A 'Hard Brexit' or 'clean break': a boost for British consultancy and ports says think-tank

A think-tank advocating the 'Clean Brexit' reports suggest that the Prime Minister will today endorse claims that leaving both the Single Market and Customs Union will be a boost for UK consultancies selling professional services and for regional ports.

The Policy Exchange argues that while leaving the Customs Union could mean a doubling of customs declarations to officials, technology could keep delays at ports to a minimum - non-EU consignments entering French ports are held for "less than six minutes," it says. Meanwhile, the Government's new industrial strategy would allow free-trade zones, areas where goods may be handled and re-exported without customs checks, currently banned under EU state aid laws, to be set up in UK regional ports, it adds. There is no mention of the border in Ireland in the report.

The Customs Union "does not apply to services anyway," the think-tank says, with access to foreign providers of professional services within the EU currently "restricted". Joining the Trade in Services Agreement under the World Trade Organisation, "may mean the UK is able to secure a better deal" for services, saying it is "perplexing" universities that could benefit have "been so negative about Brexit". The DfT established a new role in the autumn in a bid to bolster international trade in the transport sector.