Brexit and the Border: how the EU’s customs union works

May also repeated that maintaining the open land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland would be a priority, and that she wanted trade deals with the rest of the world.

It’s worth bearing in mind at this point that two years in European Union deal-making time is extremely speedy.

May refused to be drawn on whether or not she meant to leave the union – until today. Here’s what’s happened, and what might happen next.

Left-wing politicians are particularly anxious the USA will try to open up private sector access to public services such as Britain’s state-backed National Health Service, considered by all parties as the country’s most precious asset. They would be required to do the same for all other goods upon which they impose tariffs. The EU’s guiding principles are “a key issue for the German government”, he said.

What is the EU customs union? The EU, which according to recent data accounts for approximately half the U.K.’s imports and exports, is likely to be overwhelmingly important to it after the exit.

Under the agreement, Turkey can not agree new trade deals with other countries without consulting the EU, must apply the same external tariff as the EU on goods covered by the agreement, and must submit to rulings from the European Court of Justice on issues relating to the customs union. Theresa May also (in echoes of language used by the Leave Campaign) ruled out adopting any off-the-shelf model of associate European Union membership.

But trade with European nations will continue, she said. If we want change then we have to go the whole hog.

“I think we have to have a deal that ensures we have access to the market, we have British jobs dependent on the market, that’s what we will be pushing for.”

That would mean the “days of Britain making vast contributions to the European Union every year will end”, although there could be some specific European programmes that the United Kingdom might want to contribute in.

“UK’s plan seems a bit ambitious – trade as free as possible, full control on immigration… where is the give for all the take?”

Theresa May said that Britain will remain a magnet for global talent and presented the benefits of immigration for travel, study and work. The WTO accepts free-trade deals and customs unions, but only if they embrace “substantially all the trade”. Norway and Switzerland are members of the single market but not the EU.

“This is on the premise that the big news is already out there, and surprises limited, following what must be have been a “strategic leak” of the PM’s Brexit blueprint speech today, one which confirms a clean-break from the European Union and suggests a roadmap for Brexit does exist”. And she also started to set out a wider vision for the UK’s relationship with the European Union, linking it both to Britain’s place in the world, and to her own domestic vision – for the sort of country “we want to be”.

“The UK is heading for a hard Brexit, which threatens to be economically catastrophic”, she said.

But in practice European officials say this is a minefield.

“No deal for Britain is better than a bad deal for Britain”.

At present, the UK’s membership of the WTO is held through the EU.

This would not mean everything was smooth sailing: The UK would face higher tariffs on its exports than it does at present, would be subject to more customs checks, and would not automatically be able to trade in, for example, financial services – one of our main exports. “It’s not clear what Britain would get out of it, given USA barriers are usually at state not country level”.