What is strange about the Irish Government’s approach is its lack of overt support for a free-trade agreement between the UK and the EU.
Deep and ongoing customs co-operation between the EU and UK is achievable, without limiting the opportunities for other trade deals.
Reform must be phased, to allow farmers to adapt, but it will pay dividends.
The really interesting question is: what causes wealth? And the answer is clear enough – specialisation and exchange.
The Article 50 clock is ticking – their departments must waste no more time in preparing the agricultural sector for the challenges and opportunities posed by global trade.
Individually, migrants can come to embody these values better than many on the Left who were born here. But the evidence suggests that this takes time.
A comparison with its neighbour, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is stark.
Doing so would be a concrete and welcome improvement to the lives of millions of people.
The International Trade Secretary also explains what his department can do before Britain’s formal departure from the EU.
Imagining otherwise does nobody any good.
The Union has already signed up to an FTA) with Canada. Surely we should be able to agree a similar deal for the UK – if not one substantially deeper.
This is because in order to maximise opportunities, we must have control over our tariff schedules and our domestic regulation.
The final article in the author’s five-piece series on how Britain must prepare for March 31 2019 – and has less than 600 days to get it right.