“When you look at the impact that Brexit had on the U.K. economy, [which was] four to five percent of GDP, I think for our members working with some of those key sectors, they’re not hung up on what’s the form of language or the exact mechanism,” he said.
“What they want is the ability for their companies to minimize the friction in their supply chains, to be able to bring in goods, the goods that go backwards and forwards between the U.K. and EU. So I think, from our point of view, [we’re] challenging the government to be ambitious, to consider every option.”
A British government spokesperson said: “We will always act in Britain’s national interest. We have been clear there will be no return to freedom of movement, the customs union or the single market.”
In his wide-ranging interview, Nowak also had words for the EU side and how it might make the whole exercise a bit easier. “There’s a lot of skepticism, I think, in Europe, about the U.K. getting special treatment. All of that psychodrama they went through with the previous [Conservative] government. Can you trust them?” he told POLITICO.
“We’ve got to encourage our colleagues in Europe to be as ambitious as well and not just to see the review of the TCA [trade and cooperation agreement] as a technical exercise.”