The UK EEF manufacturers’ organization slammed Prime Minister Theresa May’s “Max Fac” proposal for UK and EU customs as “naive” and “unrealistic”. Max fac, or maximum facilitation, is a technological border solution that May push to implement by the time a planned Brexit transition period ends in December 2020.
EEF Chief Executive Stephen Phipson said in a statement that the debate on MaxFac is “misguided”. The focus should be on whether it is good enough to “provide a frictionless border” for the “highly complex integrated supply chains with Europe. Also, focus is on whether it “can be implemented quickly enough to be ready for December 2020”. Phipson said the answer is “overwhelming no”. And, “it may have some long term benefits, but suggesting MaxFac is a solution to our immediate problems is a non-starter”.