Laying out the government’s Brexit plans with 12 core objectives, May said that she was confident a deal can be reached with the European Union once the trigger to leave is pulled by the end of March. She called for a “phased approach” to implementing the new rules to ensure Brexit is “smooth.” May offered a series of other aims for the coming talks:
- She wants to recast membership of Europe’s customs union by maintaining tariff-free, friction-less trade with the EU, but without having to impose the same duties on non-EU countries
- The ability to negotiate new trade deals with countries outside the bloc
- She wants transitional arrangements for financial services and other companies so new rules are phased in over time
- No more “huge” U.K. contributions to the EU budget
She was also clear that she was prepared to walk away if she couldn’t get the deal she wanted. “We would still be able to trade with Europe,” she said. “We would be free to strike trade deals across the world. And we would have the freedom to set the competitive tax rates and embrace the policies that would attract the world’s best companies and biggest investors to Britain.”
