Customs union: The battleground set to decide the fate of Brexit

John Springford, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform, says the government could attempt two possible compromises to head off a rebellion but both have serious flaws. One, recently advocated by the Institute of Directors, would see the UK staying in a customs union for manufactured goods but not for most agricultural products.“Tariffs are high on agriculture so we can reduce our agricultural tariffs in future trade deals to help give us access on services,” Mr Springford says. “The trouble is this doesn’t tackle the Northern Ireland problem. There is a huge amount of agricultural trade between Northern Ireland and the republic, which means it would be impossible to maintain a frictionless border.”