Customs Union? Single Market? The UK and Europe Can Do Better

As the 10th anniversary of Brexit approaches this summer, recent polls suggest nearly 6 in 10 Britons want to rejoin the European Union. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has begun speaking vaguely about a “closer alignment” between the UK and the European single market. Both he and the EU can and should think more boldly.

Starmer’s recent comments were spurred by chatter from his own Labour Party about rejoining the EU’s customs union. That would eliminate costly “rules of origin” declarations and make tariff-free trade unconditional. But most post-Brexit trade costs stem from nontariff barriers — regulatory inspections, declarations, safety checks, excise duties and the like. As long as the UK remains outside the EU’s single market, those stay. Britain would also have to modify a range of recent trade deals, including with the successor to the Trans-Pacific Partnership.