EU, UK Might Establish Temporary Customs Union Post-Brexit

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A temporary customs union between the European Union and the United Kingdom might be established post-Brexit in order to mitigate the consequences of the country's withdrawal from the European Union for the UK economy and avoid "chaos," local media reported, citing Brexit Secretary David Davis.

In an interview to the ITV broadcaster on Monday, Davis said that he intended to ask the European Union to set up a temporary customs union after Brexit in March 2019, adding that it would serve the interests of the both sides.

"We sell them, the Europeans, about 230 billion euro [$270 billion] of goods and services a year. They sell us 290 billion euro. So there are a lot of things there," Davis was quoted as saying by the broadcaster.

Commenting on the cost of such a union for London, the Brexit secretary stated that the details of the deal would be subject to negotiation.

In late March, the United Kingdom officially launched the EU withdrawal process. The Brexit negotiations between London and Brussels, which started on June 19, are expected to conclude by the end of March 2019.

In late July, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond expressed his intention to ensure that UK firms maintain full access to both the EU Single Market and Customs Union for at least two years after Brexit, after which the United Kingdom would leave both.