Thread by @DmitryOpines

1/ I'm getting a lot of questions about the WTO legality of the new 'wave em through' customs arrangements.

Best answer: Dubious, but probably not so much so that the UK will actually face successful disputes.

news.sky.com/story/no-deal-…

2/ So, what is the plan?

Instead of declaring goods (and that appropriate tariffs etc have been taken care of) at the border, firms with an EORI number will be able to just make a note of them in their own records and submit the forms to HMRC later (within a month).

3/ This will only apply to EU goods, so it is technically discriminatory. However, the UK would argue they aren't waving the tariffs, just the method of collection.

Under the WTO rules, a Member CAN make a risk-based assessment to check some sources more thoroughly.

4/ It's not a slam dunk argument, obviously. Japan and the US would be fascinated to see any risk assessment which suggests their exporters are a significantly greater smuggling risk than those of the EU... but it is an argument.

5/ In practice, any dispute at the WTO would likely not have time to play out.

If a dispute did play out, and the UK was found to be in breach, they would turn around and say, "Ok, fair enough. We're planning to phase this out and here's our plan and timeline."

6/ Summary: Provided the UK doesn't care about likely being in breach and doesn't mind the smuggling implications of putting 20 of its ports on the honor system, WTO enforcement is not a major problem for it here.