UK Government publishes Brexit Whitepaper

The UK Government has published its White Paper on the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union.

The paper was formally presented today (12 July) by Dominic Raab, who took over as the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union following David Davis’ resignation at the start of this week.

In his statement to Parliament, Raab said that the plan would take the UK out of the Single Market and the Customs Union. However, he also said that the government proposed to “maintain frictionless trade through a new UK-EU free trade area for goods underpinned by a common rule book”.

The White Paper also proposed a “Facilitated Customs Arrangement (FCA)”, which Raab described as a “business-friendly model that removes the need for new routine customs checks and controls between the UK and the EU, Whilst enabling the UK to control its own tariffs to boost trade with the rest of the world”.

Raab added that he spoke with the UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday, and together they “agreed to step up [their] planning for a no-deal scenario, So that the UK is ready for Brexit … no matter what the outcome of these negotiations”.

Click here to access a PDF download of the White Paper.