United Kingdom To strike New Trade Deals During Transitional Period

  

    As the Government publishes its proposal for a customs union deal, the EU Parliament's Brexit coordinator calls it "fantasy".

   Speaking as the Brexit Secretary David Davis revealed future customs proposals with the EU, Government officials refused to be drawn on whether a third country trade deal could actually be signed.
   This appeared to contradict an earlier promise made by Chancellor Philip Hammond and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, who said that once EU membership ends in March 2019, the UK would be an independent nation with the freedom to sign bilateral free trade agreements.
   Report says, Davis told newsmen that  customs arrangement with the EU will be "in both sides' interests" but any transition period should not exceed two years.
He said any interim customs union was there to avoid a cliff-edge for manufacturers after Brexit.