British Prime Minister Theresa May said any trade deal with the EU will be tailored to suit the needs of both economies, in line with what the EU has done with some trade deals with other countries, in response to criticism that she is trying to cherry pick.
"The fact is that every Free Trade Agreement has varying market access depending on the respective interests of the countries involved," May said in a key Brexit speech March 2. "If this is cherry-picking, then every trade arrangement is cherry-picking."
May said Britain, which is leaving the customs union, wants the freedom to negotiate trade deals with other countries while maintaining "as frictionless a border as possible" with the bloc.
Britain earlier rejected the EU's proposal to keep Northern Ireland within the bloc's customs union. "Just as it would be unacceptable to go back to a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, it would also be unacceptable to break up the United Kingdom's own common market by creating a customs and regulatory border down the Irish Sea," May said March 2.
May said any future trading relationship with the EU should entail reciprocal commitments, an independent arbitration mechanism and data protection arrangements while allowing people to move between the U.K. and the bloc.
She said Britain wants to explore the terms on which it could remain part of the European Medicines Agency, the European Chemicals Agency, and the European Aviation Safety Agency. She acknowledged that this would mean abiding by the rules of those agencies and making "an appropriate financial contribution."
On services, including financial services, the idea is for the two sides to agree regulatory objectives, with Britain having the liberty to set its own rules to meet those targets.
Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, welcomed the "clarity" from May and her recognition that Britain faces "trade-offs."
May also reiterated that the European Court of Justice will no longer be the final arbiter of partnership disputes between the two sides as its eventual jurisdiction in the U.K. "must end."
