A Brexit gentlemen's agreement

Brussels

IN her latest speech on Brexit, British Prime Minister Theresa May rejected the prospect of the United Kingdom remaining in the European Union's customs union, on the grounds that the UK wants its own trade policy. This is not in the best interest of either the UK or the EU.

It is true that Norway and Switzerland, both of which are highly integrated into the EU market, have customs borders with the bloc. These countries need an independent commercial policy to provide greater protection than the EU offers to their domestic agricultural sectors, which in both cases can never be efficient, owing to mountainous terrain.