Theresa May has said she retains an “open mind” about the UK’s trading relationships after Brexit amid reports some cabinet colleagues want the United Kingdom to pull out of the EU’s customs union.
Advertisement
Speaking at a press conference in Rome following talks with Prime Minister Theresa May, Mr Renzi admitted he was “saddened” by last month’s European Union referendum result.
Redwood, an intellectual leader of the Brexiteers in Prime Minister Theresa May’s ruling Conservative party, said a swift exit that ensured tariff-free trade with the rest of the European Union was achievable. When it does so, some restrictions on the “freedom of movement” rules that presently allow European Union citizens to live and work in the country are likely.
The comments indicate the delicacy of the domestic balancing act May will have to perform as she prepares to negotiate with leaders such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel on pulling the world’s fifth largest economy out of the EU.
She told BBC Two’s Newsnight: “While the whole issue is terribly complicated, it wouldn’t be that hard to envision a trade agreement between the USA and the United Kingdom done relatively quickly given that both economies are already fairly open, both countries take a fairly open perspective on liberalisation”.
He said the negotiations must be as “efficient as possible”. Speaking on ITV earlier this month, May refused to guarantee the rights of European Union nationals to stay in the country once a Brexit is officially underway.
Asked about the issue at a joint press conference with Mr Renzi, the Prime Minister said: “I’m looking at this with an open mind”.
The UK is expected to institute a host of new freedom of movement restrictions following last month’s vote to leave the economic bloc, however the government has yet to outline the details of a new plan.
Mrs May also revealed that she recently chaired the first meeting of the cabinet committee tasked with organising Brexit, and that preparations were underway for “an orderly departure” from the EU.
May has previously hinted the article may not be invoked until early 2017.
He added: “It’s in everybody’s interest to succeed in the end, to succeed in having a vision or a specific timeline which will make this pass easier. But I hope that this is an issue we can address early on”.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, The Financial Times newspaper reported on Wednesday that worldwide trade minister Liam Fox wants May to pull out of the EU customs union, where there is free movement of goods but where tariffs are imposed on external borders.
