02/11/2016 House of Lords

jobs depend on our staying hn the customs union. I believe, I am sure

the Secretary of State for International trade is delighted

that his career is flourishhng and two years travelling around the

world, meeting all sorts of interesting people and trying to do

lots of deals, but those million manufacturing jobs matter more than

his grandiloquent ideas. Subtitles will resume on Wddnesday

In Parliament at 2300. This is an area in which thdse

excellent cross government cooperation and I'm very pldased to

be joined on the bench todax by my colleague from the Treasury, my

honourable friend for Battersea which shows how the Treasurx are

working hand on this issue. I would like to be very clear from the

outset, we are all, I think, with that no final decision has been

taken on our border, future economic relationship with the EU whhch

includes an approach to customer unions. As with the decision not to

trigger off 50 metres the drought we we take the time to analyse

carefully our options. We whll seek to secure the best deal for the

whole of the UK. I'm very grateful. I wonder if he might help md with

the question I posed to the honourable lady opposite. The ballot

paper said that we are leavhng the European Union. We voted to leave.

We joined the customs union in 973. Isn't the presumption, the starting

position for the Government, that we will be leaving the customs union.

Arguments have been made, why we won't be doing that rather than why

we should take that as the opening position. I think it's important we

engage with the month on both sides of the debate. We need to sdcure the

UK national interest. We want to listen very carefully to thd

arguments for staying in before we take a decision. I think th`t is

important. I think we can all agree there are numerous aspects without

issue. The honourable lady speaks with considerable experiencd on

complex economic issues havhng been a Treasury serving on the sdlect

committee former minister. H think, you know, she will appreciate, as

the Prime Minister said in her reply the other day that making a full

assessment of the options of the customs union is more compldx than

it may seem at first when ddscribed to the public. Firstly, it's

important to understand exactly what a customs union is, and is not. It

is an arrangement which rel`tes to trade in goods. It doesn't cover

trading services free movemdnt of capital people. To facilitate trade

the customs union removes t`riffs and customs controls on goods moving

between its members. Whilst services are not directly included. They are

not subject to tariffs or ctstoms controls. They have becoming bedded

in goods production. The customs union could indirectly affect

agencies such as in parallel to exporting an aircraft engind and

engineering firm might also provide maintenance services or, in parallel

to an automotive firm exporting cars, they might provide financial

services alongside it. To ftnction properly the customs union lust have

a common external tariff. Applied equally by all members of the union.

This supports the freezer creation of birds within a customs union

trade diversions.