Theresa May has denied climbing down over membership of the customs union after Britain leaves the EU. The United Kingdom will be leaving the customs union, we are leaving the European Union. Of course we will be negotiating future customs arrangements with the European Union and I have set three objectives; the government has three objectives in those. The reports emerged as peers finally gave the EU withdrawal bill a third reading, but not before inflicting a 15th defeat on the government. But one source dismissed the reports, saying: “There was no proposal discussed or agreed that would see us staying in the customs union beyond the implementation period.”Q&A What is a customs union and why does it matter?

Source: The Guardian May 17, 2018 08:17 UTC