Brexit: Irish border can be solved with max fac customs proposal, claims Policy Exchange in Lord Trimble-backed report
The Irish border problem can be solved with the “max fac” customs proposal favoured by Brexiters, according to a new paper endorsed by former Northern Ireland minister Lord Trimble.
The “maximum facilitation” – or “max fac” – option would allow so-called trusted traders to cross the Northern Ireland and other EU borders freely, aided by technology. It would reduce customs controls and barriers, making it as frictionless as possible. Goods would be electronically tracked and pre-cleared with tax authorities.
Critics have warned there would need to be tariff checks, meaning it would not solve the thorny Irish border question.
But a new paper published by the Policy Exchange think tank argues that is not the case. A frictionless border “can be achieved by the use of new technology and in the context of a Free Trade Agreement between the UK and EU, in an arrangement that goes beyond the Customs Partnership and in no way threatens the Good Friday Agreement”, the report by chief economic adviser Graham Gudgin and former Irish diplomat Ray Bassett argues.
In a foreward to the report, Trimble writes: “Fears over a ‘hard border’ are only as strong as the refusal of those who do not engage with a workable technological solution. Anyone interested in the welfare of the people of Northern Ireland, and indeed the welfare of those in the Republic and EU, should be urging Brussels to seek a free trade agreement with the UK and develop a smart border process.
“Thirty years ago, we found that where there was a will to succeed, to build something better, all obstacles could be overcome. As the heartfelt disappointment of some in response to the Brexit result dissipates, I hope that true friends of Northern Ireland – including the partners in peace all those years ago – will cease the scaremongering and work for a practical, prosperous future.”
Calling for “a recognition of the economic and political reality, and a little good faith”, Gudgin stressed there was no reason to believe the Good Friday Agreement would be undermined by such an approach.
“A solution that respects the Brexit referendum and maintains a light-touch border is achievable,” he said. “Modern technology means that physical customs posts, or even cameras, are no longer essential at borders. This is the case made by the EU’s own customs expert, Lars Karlsson, who envisages the use of mobile phone and GPS technology to track HGVs, together with the computer-based customs clearing which is the norm across much of the world.
“The Irish Government is playing a dangerous game by demanding that Northern Ireland remains within the EU Customs Union and by threatening vetoes. Ireland more than any EU economy needs free trade with the UK but has made no efforts to promote such an agreement in Brussels.”
The paper is published a day after foreign secretary Boris Johnson intervened, calling the second proposal – the customs partnership favoured by Theresa May – “crazy”. Last week the Brexit war Cabinet reached a deadlock, with the likes of business secretary Greg Clark and chancellor Philip Hammond fighting for the customs partnership.
Both options have been rejected by Brussels so far.