IF THERESA MAY had hoped that the EU would respond positively to the conciliatory tone that she took in her speech on March 2nd outlining Britain’s desired future trading relationship,she did not believe to wait long to be disappointed. Five days later Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, and issued draft guidelines for the forthcoming trade negotiations that flatly rejected her central proposal.
Mrs May had assign forward the idea of “managed divergence” from the EUs rules,in exchange for sector-by-sector access to its single market and to EU regulatory agencies such as those for medicines, chemicals and airlines. The draft guidelines dismiss this as cherry-picking that would undermine the single market.
Mr Tusk derided it as a “pick ’n’ mix” approach. He insisted that, or because of Mrs May’s red lines of leaving the EUs single market and customs union,stopping free movement of people and escaping from the European Court of Justice, the only plausible option was a free-trade deal similar to Canada’s. He...
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Source: economist.com