I have nothing further to add, other than to say that it is a matter for the negotiations. It is a matter for the negotiations and I am not going to go further. I checked the transcript of the Select Committee hearing that the noble Lord so rightly brought me up on earlier and that is what I said. It is exactly consistent with what I have said.
I turn to our approach to trade with the EU once we have left. My noble friend Lord Howell pointed out the intricacies of this. It is absolutely true—a basic point—that across the world countries which are not members of the single market trade with Europe. The single market is not a tablet of stone. As the noble Lord, Lord Mandelson, so rightly said, in services, which drive so much of our wealth creation, the single market is incomplete; likewise, on digital services. With that in mind, the Government have a clear aim: to seek an agreement for the freest and most frictionless trade possible in goods and services between the UK and the EU. We start these negotiations from a unique position. The EU exports to the UK £290 billion of goods and services each year, and on day 1 we will have exactly the same regulations and standards as our negotiating partners. The focus will not be about removing existing barriers or questioning certain protections but about ensuring new barriers do not arise, and the scale of trade means that it should be in our interests, and Europe’s interests, to come to an agreement.
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As to achieving frictionless trade, some have highlighted the non-tariff barriers—standards, conformity assessments and so on—that might arise when we have left. These are indeed important issues, as well as intricate and complex issues, and I am not going to dismiss what the noble Lord, Lord Mandelson, said about the challenges that some of them pose. In the interests of time, I will address just one, customs.
As noble Lords know, sophisticated supply chains can operate between countries that do not, for example, have a formal customs union. The US and Canada do not have a customs union, but highly complex and integrated automotive supply chains operate across their borders. Next, there are many precedents of means to reduce border bureaucracy. The EU has agreements with China, Japan, the US and other countries, to allow businesses with “authorised economic operator status” access to simpler and faster customs procedures. Today, UK companies with AEO status account for around 60% of UK imports and 74% of UK exports. Next, we have one of the most advanced customs systems in the world: 99% of customs declarations are received electronically and 96% are cleared in seconds.
I am not disputing that there are challenges ahead; however, I am saying that there are precedents on offer
and that we are building on a strong base. I would ask those of your Lordships who, like me, voted to remain, to stop fighting the battles of the campaign and to come together to help us to think of ways in which we can continue to thrive, continue to trade and overcome some of the challenges.
The issues raised by this amendment are indeed worthy of debate, but with the greatest of respect, this amendment has no place in the Bill and would undermine the expressed intent of the British people, which is to leave the EU. I therefore ask the noble Lord to withdraw his amendment.