Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Labour’s Shadow International Trade Secretary Barry Gardiner rules out Single Market and Customs Union membership once and for all… Remaining in the customs union after Brexit would be a disaster, Labour’s trade spokesman said in the latest sign of the party’s divisions on the issue. The shadow international trade secretary, Barry Gardiner, said remaining part of the customs arrangement would leave the UK bound by EU free-trade deals without achieving the benefits. His comments came after Jeremy Corbyn said the party had yet to decide its position on future customs arrangements, while the shadow Brexit secretary, Sir Keir Starmer, has said membership of the customs union should remain on the table. – Guardian In the EEA, Britain would be obliged to keep the four freedoms, including the free movement of people, so no regaining control of our borders; align its regulatory regime with the EU’s – so no regaining sovereignty (in fact we would no longer have a seat at the table so there would actually be a reduction of sovereignty); follow ECJ rulings; and still pay into the EU budget. The UK would technically not be a member of the EU, but we would in effect become a vassal state: obliged to pay into the union’s budget while having even less sovereignty than we do now… Some have suggested we should retain membership of the customs union, the benefits of which extend to goods rather than services, and establish common import tariffs with respect to the rest of the world. But that is not possible. The only members of this union are the member states of the EU, and they alone have negotiating power. – Shadow International Trade Secretary Barry Gardiner MP writing for the Guardian …although the party’s First Minister in Wales wants to stay in the Single Market… Divisions have emerged at the top of Labour’s ranks yet again over its Brexit policies as Jeremy Corbyn’s stance on access to the EU’s single market was described as making “no sense at all” by the Welsh First Minister… On Monday, the Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones told the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme there was no need to leave the tariff-free market, adding the UK could have “full and unfettered access” after Brexit. Citing Norway’s relationship with the EU – Norway is a member of the single market but not the bloc – Labour’s Mr Jones, said: “If we were not in the single market, we would be having a debate about how to access it, not how to leave it. “There is no need to leave the single market, even as we leave the EU,” he added. – – Independent Welsh first minister: ‘No need to leave the single market’ – Politico …while Sir Keir Starmer faces a backlash over second job with Article 50 law firm Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, is in talks to accept an advisory role with a major law firm. The prominent member of Labour’s shadow cabinet is likely to accept a job with Mischon de Reya, the law firm behind the court case which forced Parliament to hold a vote on Article 50. Mr Starmer worked for the firm before becoming an MP, joining after stepping down as director of public prosecutions in November 2013. The role is likely to involve advising Mischon’s internal think tank, known as the Academy, and would not involve working directly with clients.- The Times (£) Conservative MP James Cleverly has written to Sir Keir suggesting he is guilty of a potential conflict of interest – and hypocrisy – given Labour’s opposition to second jobs for MPs. “Mishcon de Reya have been an active participant in legal cases surrounding the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union,” Mr Cleverly writes… “The firm acted for Gina Miller in her case against the Government regarding the triggering of Article 50 even though your party leader Jeremy Corbyn called for Article 50 to be triggered immediately following the referendum, without the consent of Parliament. The firm’s legal work alongside your role in the shadow cabinet creates a possible conflict of interests.” – Sky News Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer mulls a job offer – Daily Mail Liam Fox begins talks over trade deal with US as he warns Brexit won’t be ‘thwarted’… Dr Liam Fox has said Remainers who hope something will “thwart” Brexit are “dreaming”. The Secretary of State for International Trade made the comments as he held the first meeting of the UK-US trade and investment working group in Washington DC. The prominent Brexiteer said: “Those who are still intent on trying to thwart the process, or seem to hope that something will magically appear that will change the referendum results, they are dreaming.” Answering questions following a speech at the American Enterprise Institute conservative think tank, Dr Fox admitted it would be “optimistic” to think a free-trade deal with the European Union could be concluded by the time of Brexit in March 2019. – Telegraph (£) It will, according to President Trump, be very big, very powerful and very quick. But would a trade deal with the world’s largest economy live up to its billing? Liam Fox, the trade secretary, says his department estimates that it would raise trade between the two nations by £40 billion by 2030 — or about 25 per cent. Not all of that would translate into economic growth because much of it may merely be displacing trade with other countries. The EU is negotiating its own agreement with the US, called the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. – The Times (£) Liam Fox on hunt for £40bn US trade prize as he jets off to Washington – Express First round of Brexit trade talks with the US kicks off – Daily Mail …and attacks media over ‘obsession’ with chlorinated chicken… Liam Fox brushed off suggestions that a UK-US trade deal could be derailed by a dispute over chlorinated chicken as a new report said that eating it in moderation did not pose any health risk. During a trade mission to Washington the trade secretary once again attacked the media, saying it was “obsessed” about the issue amid signs of cabinet disagreements over the role of food standards in trade agreements after Brexit. – The Times (£) Today’s Brexit horror story has landed: we’re going to be inundated with chlorine-washed chickens. The curse of this cleansed poultry is such that we must immediately resubmit to the dictates of Brussels. Well, that is the impression you’d get from reading the newspapers on the subject – and it would also be to get the benefits and mechanics of trade entirely the wrong way around. Liam Fox is off to the US to see if he can get a free trade agreement out of them. Super – in the absence of such deals we revert to WTO terms with everyone in about 18 months, and we think we’d rather like to do better than that. – Tim Worstall for CapX Fox mocks ‘obsessed’ media. – Telegraph (£) Food fight looms over Liam Fox’s trade mission to US – Politico Chlorinated chicken imports not ruled out – Sky News Ignore the scare stories over chlorinated chicken – Ross Clark for the Spectator No chlorinated chicken can rival the sheer existential horror of a Scotch egg – Tanya Gold for the Telegraph (£) Post-Brexit deals could undermine UK animal welfare standards claim peers – PA > Matt Kilcoyne today on BrexitCentral: We shouldn’t let false scare stories get in the way of a trade deal …but admits EU trade deal may not be ready until after Brexit Dr Fox has admitted for the first time that Britain may not have completed negotiations for a free trade deal with the EU by March 2019. The trade secretary said in Washington that it would be “optimistic” to think that the deal would be done by [the time of] Brexit but said that ministers supported a transition deal to smooth the path. There was a “growing consensus” in cabinet for an “implementation” phase, he said, which would mean the UK voluntarily keeping some of the EU’s laws and rules, he said..- The Times (£) Britain warned to be wary of US in trade talks because UK is ‘just getting back into the game’ Britain should be wary of the US when it enters trade talks because UK is “just getting back into the game”, the head of the British Chambers of Commerce has warned. Adam Marshall, director general of the business group, said the US’s negotiating experience could make it difficult for Britain to secure a good deal. His comments came as Dr Liam Fox, the Secretary of State for International Trade, flies into America to prepare the ground for a post-Brexit trade deal. – Telegraph (£) EU could burn Ireland’s access to EU markets if they fail to strike Brexit deal Brexit threatens to sever the logistical lifeline that connects Irish food producers to the rest of the EU. For many Irish farmers and food producers, Britain is a time-saving flyover from their rainswept island on the periphery of Europe to millions of hungry consumers on the Continent. The cross-U.K. route allows Irish traders to reach EU markets in a little over 10 hours door-to-door, a swift timeframe vital for transporting perishable goods… Irish food merchants and hauliers are being confronted with the prospect of journey times tripling and painful logjams for customs clearance in ill-equipped ports that will prove lethal to their profit margins. – Politico EU boss Juncker converted me from Remainer to Brexiteer, says MP Ben Bradley, who at 27 has never known life outside the Brussels club, said the dictatorial response of senior eurocrats to Britain’s decision to quit had convinced him Brexit was the right choice. In an opinion piece the newly elected Mansfield MP, whose constituency voted overwhelmingly to quit the EU, revealed that during the referendum he had given half-hearted support to the Remain camp. In an article for the website BrexitCentral he told how his mind on Europe has been changed over the course of the last year, largely by the actions of senior EU leaders and officials. – Express > Ben Bradley MP yesterday on BrexitCentral: My journey from reluctant Remainer to confident Brexiteer ECJ used to attack Scottish government over whisky The Scottish government faces a fight over whisky today and tomorrow, as its alcohol policy is called into question. Whisky producers are challenging the SNP policy of minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol products. Groups including the Scotch Whisky Association are arguing that the plan goes against EU law. Previously the European Court of Justice has ruled that MUP is only legal if evidence shows it is more effective than taxation, therefore the Supreme Court case will weigh up the evidence to establish whether this requirement is met. – City A.M. Croatia want right to settle in UK before Brexit day Croatia is using the Brexit talks to try to open the U.K. to its workers. Senior Croatian officials, including Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, have asked the EU’s top Brexit negotiator to ensure that Croats can live and work in Britain starting next July and thereby benefit from any deal on the rights of EU citizens in the U.K. once it leaves the bloc in 2019. Unlike citizens from the other 26 remaining EU states, Croats do not have an automatic right to live and work in the U.K. because of temporary restrictions imposed after the Central European state joined the EU in 2013. – Politico Christopher Howarth: On immigration, we need no implementation, no transition post-Brexit. Just an immediate start in cutting numbers. The UK has, by accident or design, followed a policy of economic growth driven by migration-fuelled population growth. EU free movement supplemented by a taxpayer subsidy for employers to take on low paid workers – in-work benefits – has been a dominant feature of our economy for the last 15 years. So all established companies that have a secure market benefit from a growing economy, while those who find it easier to import skills rather than invest in domestic skills or automation get a double benefit. Whether individual domestic workers and taxpayers have benefited is another question. – Christopher Howarth for ConservativeHome Ewen Stewart: The EU should be careful about threatening to remove UK access to the EHIC scheme The recent leaks running in the press, that Britons risk losing access to the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), allowing free medical treatment should they fall ill during their stay in an EU country, is another example of the EU deliberately trying to sap the will of the British electorate and subvert the democratic result. This is a naked threat which if implemented would be both vindictive and counterproductive. Vindictive because membership of the EHIC is not exclusive to the EU, with many non-EU countries being members of this scheme… Counterproductive because for every British citizen living in an EU country there are at least three EU citizens living here! – Ewen Stewart for Global Britain Ben Somervell: A quick UK-EU free trade deal is possible We often hear from remain voters, that a free trade agreement (FTA) with the EU will take seven years as Canada’s Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) did. However, I am confident that a bilateral UK-EU FTA does not need to take anywhere near as long. Here’s why. Unlike all other countries seeking FTAs with the EU, we have the unique advantage of currently having no tariffs, quotas or unnecessary customs or trade barriers with the EU to negotiate away. – Ben Somervell for CommentCentral Asa Bennett: Jeremy Corbyn is jumping off the Brexit fence, leaving his Labour colleagues to suffer the splinters Britain’s vote to leave the European Union brought many revellers at Glastonbury down from their high, so their jubilation last month when the Labour leader came to muck in with them was bizarre. They wail about Theresa May’s plans for a “hard Brexit”, but did they not know how much Jeremy Corbyn agrees with her? The leader of the Opposition couldn’t hide it over the weekend under questioning from Andrew Marr, accepting that Britain will “have to leave” the European Single Market after the Brexit process “because it is dependent on membership of the EU”. – Asa Bennett for the Telegraph (£) The Commentator: Why Brussels will calm down about Brexit With Verhofstadt’s and Barnier’s wrecking tactics now fully exposed, and with yet another massive crisis looming over Poland, Brussels simply cannot afford a fight with Britain. Merkel and company will ensure a smooth Brexit, because they ultimately have no choice.N o-one is going to think that it is Britain that looks bad when the other side is led by people who want to wreck a deal before it has been struck. Barnier and particularly Verhofstadt are a busted flush. It won’t take long for the likes of Angela Merkel to come down on them like a tonne of bricks. Watch this space – The Commentator editorial Brexit comment in brief What the German car industry wants – John Redwood MP for John Redwood’s Diary It’s still Europe that could rip the Tories apart – Rachel Sylvester for The Times (£) Why crashes and bangs rarely move markets – Ian Stewart for CapX Big banks can’t have all they want — time to call their bluff – Simon English for the Evening Standard A Mayor for the North East can seize the joint opportunities of Brexit – Stephen Purvis for Reaction Cabinet agreement on Brexit doesn’t equal Tory harmony – Isabel Hardman for the Spectator MPs need to grow up to get through Brexit – Hamish McRae for the Evening Standard We have nothing to fear but the fear of Brexit itself – Phil Mullan for spiked Labour’s Brexit policy gaffes are wearing thin – Catherine Neilan for City A.M. Labour should exploit the Tories’ disarray on Europe, not copy it – Polly Toynbee for the Guardian The new EU-Canada treaty shows why there’s no Brexit role for the ECJ – Telegraph letters (£) Brexit news in brief MPs seek way for banks to keep EU access after Brexit – Reuters UK ‘overwhelmingly reliant’ on EU vets – BBC Poll suggests Brits keen to retain access to single market – Evening Standard UK government to discuss Brexit implementation period later this year – minister – Reuters Gove taking “constructive, open-minded and pragmatic” to farming – BBC Brexit ‘could lead to rise in parental child abductions’ – Independent Polish president vetos power grab of judiciary. – The Times (£) Labour have eight different positions on Brexit – The Sun Division in Labour’s top ranks over customs union – The Times (£) And finally… Brexit is not to blame for shrinking chocolate bars It is official: Brexit is not shrinking chocolate bars. Sweet-toothed UK consumers reacted bitterly last year when it was announced five months after the EU referendum that Toblerones would get smaller. Images linking the redesign with Brexit were shared thousands of times online and a question was even raised in the Scottish parliament. Mondelez, which makes Toblerone, said at the time that Brexit had nothing to do with the change and the Office for National Statistics confirmed on Monday that the phenomenon of “shrinkflation” — when a product shrinks while the price stays the same — has not become more widespread since last June’s vote. – FT (£)