After a long day of talks at Chequers, the cabinet has agreed what Theresa May hailed as a “collective position for the future of our negotiations” on Brexit. It might yet be modified amid Brussels objections or MPs’ concerns but below is the plan as agreed, as set out in a government statement:

Harmonisation on goods

The statement says the UK will “maintain a common rulebook for all goods” including agricultural products after Brexit, with the UK committing via treaty on continued harmonisation, thus avoiding border friction.

Parliament would have oversight of such rules, it adds, and can choose to not continue harmonisation “recognising that this would have consequences”. However, the proposal says protections in areas such as the environment, employment laws and consumer protection would not fall below current levels.

The arrangement would see looser arrangements for services, with a recognition this will involve less mutual access to markets than currently.



Joint jurisdiction of rules

The plan proposes what is termed a “joint institutional framework” for interpreting UK-EU agreements, to be carried out in each jurisdiction by the respective courts. However, decisions by UK courts would involve “due regard paid to EU caselaw in areas where the UK continued to apply a common rulebook”.

The system would include joint committees, or binding independent arbitration in the case of disputes, which would have reference to the European court of justice (ECJ) “as the interpreter of EU rules”.

New customs deal

The government statement puts forward the idea of the so-called facilitated customs arrangement, May’s new attempt at a compromise system that could be acceptable to her cabinet Brexiters and to Brussels.

This would see the UK and EU avoid hard borders by being treated as a “combined customs territory”. Under this, the UK would apply domestic tariffs and trade policies for goods intended for the UK, and their EU equivalents for goods heading into the EU.

This would, the document says, let a post-Brexit UK set its own tariffs for trade with the rest of the world without causing border disruption. The statement says the new arrangements would prevent a hard Irish border, ensuring the “backstop” elements of the initial withdrawal agreement would not be needed.

Overall aims

The statement ends by saying the plans, along with details to be set out in next week’s planned white paper, represent “a precise and responsible approach to the final stage of the negotiations”, giving frictionless trade in goods along with regulatory flexibility for services.

The plan, it adds, would still give the UK an independent trade policy, with the ability to set its own non-EU tariffs and to reach separate trade deals. It also promises to end the role of the ECJ in UK affairs.

Such a deal would end the automatic free movement of people into the UK from the EU but include a “mobility framework” allowing easy movement for work or study.

What it will really mean

Beyond whatever objections and modifications the EU might present, the statement is broad enough to be open to significant interpretation by ministers of various Brexit hues, not to mention backbench Conservative MPs.

While the plan states it has not breached any of May’s stated red lines, it is a distinctly soft variant of the proposed Brexits on offer and, even if it is not amended or ditched, outside pressure could place different interpretations on the terms stated. This is version one.