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Mr Lidington stated the UK needed to "put flesh on the bones" of its plans for future relations with the EU
There has been "severe criticism" of each proposed fashions for the UK's customs preparations after Brexit, a senior minister has acknowledged.
David Lidington stated there have been fears a customs partnership may "inhibit" the scope to do commerce offers and the duty was how this may very well be "mitigated".
The various, a technology-based answer, might have "hostile" results on the Northern Irish border, he added.
The UK is beneath stress to decide on one choice earlier than a key EU summit in June.
Labour stated it was "deeply disturbing" that the federal government had but to settle a debate about managing post-Brexit customs amid open divisions in cupboard.
The UK is because of formally depart the EU on 29 March 2019, with a transition interval meant to easy the way in which to the everlasting new relationship, as a result of run till 31 December 2020.
On Tuesday, Downing Street introduced it might publish its blueprint for post-Brexit UK/EU relations within the kind of a White Paper earlier than the June summit. This would set out its Brexit place and be its "most important publication on the EU" for the reason that 2016 referendum.
Many topics, together with aviation, monetary providers and fisheries are anticipated to characteristic.
Mr Lidington, a Cabinet Office minister considered one of Theresa May's closest allies, informed BBC Radio four's Today programme the doc, which is able to lengthen to greater than 100 pages, would "reveal we now have thought this via" and present the size of the UK's ambitions.
Pressed on the shortage of a choice about what would substitute the UK's present membership of the customs union, which permits for tariff-free buying and selling between members, Mr Lidington advised each choices had drawbacks which wanted to be addressed.
"There was severe criticism made in regards to the technical element of each of the fashions which are on the desk," he informed Radio four's Today.
"For instance, on the brand new customs partnership concept, the questions are round to what extent does this inhibit an impartial commerce coverage for the longer term and might we mitigate these impacts.
"The different one is does it have an effect on Northern Ireland in an hostile method and might we mitigate the influence of that?
"What any authorities does is that once we are placing ahead internally some concepts about relationships with different international locations, new treaties, that we check the authorized dangers concerned."
The BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg stated a number of cupboard ministers had acknowledged privately there may very well be an extension of the UK's customs union membership to provide time for an answer to be developed.
Mr Lidington performed this down, suggesting the Article 50 course ofgoverning the phrases of the UK's withdrawalwon't enable for this.
"Not solely are we not asking for a longer transition interval however the EU has at all times been very clear you possibly can't use Article 50 to speak in regards to the long-term future relationship," he stated.
Two separate teams of ministers on the Brexit sub-committee are "testing" the two customs fashions. The partnership associationwhich is believed to be Theresa May's most popular choicehas been strongly criticised by Brexiteers together with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.
In February, the federal government revealed a Brexit White Paper after stress from Labour.
Shadow Brexit minister Paul Blomfield stated ministers had "wasted months arguing amongst themselves reasonably than negotiating within the nationwide curiosity".
"Ministers have lastly agreed to publish a White Paper on the federal government's negotiating place, however they nonetheless do not know what it would say," he stated.