UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s inner cabinet have been in disagreement over how the future customs relationship between the EU and UK will work.

One proposal on the table, reportedly favoured by the Prime Minister is the customs partnership model in which the UK would collect customs duties on behalf of the EU. A second proposal known as the maximum facilitation or “max fac” option seeks to use technology to keep the EU borders as frictionless as possible. The EU has concerns about both options.

A third option was thrown into the mix and discussions took place on keeping the UK tied to the EU customs rules beyond the transitional date of 31 December 2020 and could stretch for some years after Brexit. This could solve the issue of avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland but it would mean that the whole of the UK would be aligned with EU rules.

This idea is an extension of the EU’s proposal of the backstop which would keep Northern Ireland aligned with the EU’s customs union and Single Market. The UK has been seeking an alternative to this arrangement as it would effectively displace Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.