UK’s Boris Johnson calls for Britain to leave EU customs union – The Telegraph

The UK’s Boris Johnson warned once again on Sunday that the UK won’t be able to pursue ambitious trade deals if it remains within the EU’s customs union following Brexit. Johnson, while speaking in Peru over the weekend, highlighted the fact that it would be more difficult for the UK to secure lucrative and complex trade agreements if it was still tied to the EU’s trade agreement system.

His latest remarks come just days after Mr Johnson warned the Prime Minister she must not betray the country by keeping the UK in the customs union. It came amid claims that a so-called backstop option to avoid a hard border in Northern Ireland could be used to keep the EU and UK linked by the backdoor.  Speaking in Peru he said the backstop must only ever be a last resort and time-limited… Building on that message he warns today that Britain has become too “Eurocentric” and abandoned trade links with South America and others in favour with closer ties to France and Germany, resulting in a “pitiful” share of trade with countries like Peru..  Mr Johnson writes: “Our Latin American partners are emphatic: if this is to work, we must come fully out of the EU customs union; and there is a lesson from Latin America.”

 – The Telegraph