US Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has warned of a "whole new web of bureaucracy," which he said would emerge if the government approves London's trade cooperation plan with the EU, which was outlined by British Prime Minister Theresa May.
The Daily Mail cited Johnson as saying that "it's totally untried and would make it very, very difficult to do free trade deals."
"If you have the new customs partnership, you have a crazy system whereby you end up collecting the tariffs on behalf of the EU at the UK frontier," he noted.
Twitter users have, meanwhile, remained at loggerheads over Johnson's remarks with respect to May's proposal on post-Brexit cooperation with the EU.
He is right, for once. Of course he ignores the fact that leaving the single market is even more crazy.
— PHANTASM (@JessPhantasm) 8 мая 2018 г.
PM should call bluff and sack him.
— Cavedweller (@Parsnip15) 8 мая 2018 г.
Leavers know a JRM leadership would command no majority in House or country.
Long past time their bluff was called.
Really…..flip flopping Boris Johnson on a Customs Union
— Cyrus Peroz (@CyrusPeroz) 8 мая 2018 г.
"in out, in out"https://t.co/uwd3GeSTIj
Is he trying to out trump #DonaldTrump for criticizing colleagues
— doc arthur (@manmed69) 8 мая 2018 г.
Totally about Boris and nothing to do with what is right for us. His ambition knows no bounds. May's total weakness as a PM and the divisions exposed. These people are supposed to be doing what's best for all of us. Let him go for Tory leader and put it to us in an election.
— mark sutcliffe (@nallarictov) 8 мая 2018 г.
Boris Johnson attacks Theresa May's 'crazy' customs plan.
— Dave Spenceley (@ytcitraining) 8 мая 2018 г.
1)Surely he now must be sacked
2) surely both options have already been rejected by the EU.
Or did I miss something? https://t.co/7pKRz2xrVD
They are led by a one time politician who will ignore any insult, any undermining of her authority, as long as she can keep her toothless title of PM. I don't think it's possible for the UK to negotiate with a loose collection of parasites in any meaningful way
— Tracy Vose #FBPE 🦊🇪🇺 (@trace462) 8 мая 2018 г.
… and this is the language of would-be usurpers? It's one thing to speak plainly & another to equate insults with negative analysis.
— Victorian House (@18ClarendonSq) 8 мая 2018 г.
They have all managed to pick words that also describe themselves.
— Josh (@Joshisbrilliant) 8 мая 2018 г.
Are you sure they were describing the policy and not themselves? Bonkers, Cretinous and Crazy sounds like a fabulous tribute band to Snap, Crackle and Pop.
— CJ de Mooi (@cjdemooi) 8 мая 2018 г.
Caption for the Tory party conference instead of strong and stable " Bonkers,Cretinous and crazy"
— i mac (@Ianmac5Ian) 8 мая 2018 г.
Meanwhile, Boris wants to schmooze D.Trump over Iran by suggesting he could be awarded Nobel Prize……..
— Yvonne Armstrong (@yvonnea13) 8 мая 2018 г.
Michael Gove has described Theresa May’s plan for a post-Brexit customs partnership as “bonkers”, Jacob Rees-Mogg has called it “cretinous” and now Boris Johnson has labelled it “crazy.” Heaven help us
— Peter Stefanovic (@PeterStefanovi2) 8 мая 2018 г.
READ MORE: UK PM May Loses Brexit Legislation Vote on EU Customs Union in Upper House
Jonson's remarks came after May made it clear that she is now absolutely determined to fully withdraw the UK from the EU customs union within a wider Brexit process.
Earlier, the British PM proposed a hybrid option of a "customs partnership" with the EU stipulating that the UK would continue to collect tariffs set by the EU customs union for goods coming into the country on behalf of the bloc.
In a letter to May, an array of pro-Brexit Conservative lawmakers argued that the "customs partnership" is "undeliverable in operational terms and would require a degree of regulatory alignment that would make the execution of an independent trade policy a practical impossibility."
READ MORE: Cliff Edge': Leading Business Group Warns Fox's Brexit Plan May Drain Firms Dry
During a nationwide referendum in the UK on June 23, 2016, more than half of the participants voted in favor of the country leaving the EU.
Britain is expected to pull out of the bloc by the end of March 2019, but London has been seeking a two-year transition period to smooth out the withdrawal, as well as guarantees of a future relationship with the EU.