UK risks being trapped in a ‘soft Brexit’
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“The UK risks being boxed in permanently to a ‘soft Brexit’, where it retains the obligations of EU membership with no control over the rules and none of the benefits of leaving. The EU’s proposed terms for a transition period are already along these lines and would effectively put Brexit on hold.
“A transition period now seems to be a necessary evil. Nonetheless, it should be time-limited, short, and materially different from the status quo. The UK must be allowed to start to negotiate its own trade deals and be exempted from any new EU rules that are not absolutely necessary for the transition.
“At the end of this period, a ‘Canada ++’ deal is probably the most realistic way to deliver a ‘free market’ Brexit. But it is important that the UK retains the option of a clean break.
“It should be possible to avoid a ‘hard border’ in Ireland while still regaining control of domestic regulations and external trade. The alternative of continuing to replicate the single market and customs union after the transition would prevent the UK from ever making the most of the opportunities created by Brexit.”
Further IEA Reading: The IEA Brexit Prize: A Blueprint for Britain-Openness not Isolation
Notes to editors
For media enquiries please contact Stephanie Lis, Director of Communications: slis@iea.org.uk or 0207 7 99 8909 or 07766 221 268.
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