The Financial Times reports Germany Rejects May’s Brexit Transition Hopes.

Once again, the divorce agreement is at the center stage. Germany and France insist divorce bill from EU will be resolved before tackling trade.

The Independent reports Theresa May’s Brexit plans in ruins after France and Germany ‘reject transitional arrangement’.

Earlier this week, a leading association of German businesses warned German companies operating in the UK to start preparing for a “very hard Brexit”, in which the UK left the EU with no trading arrangements in place. This would lead to the immediate imposition of large tariffs on cars and other goods, and the possibility of customs checks and huge tailbacks at Dover.

No Such Thing As “Soft Brexit”

All this talk of a “hard Brexit” is nonsense. There is no such thing as a soft Brexit given the wide differences and lines in the sand that both sides have drawn.

What remains is a debate over timeframes. Theresa May wants a two-year transition. Others want longer.

The transition period could be abrupt or lengthy. It is the transition period that can be hard or soft, not Brexit itself.

1.5 to 2 years would be over easy, any longer would be soft, and any shorter would be a hard transition.

I say get it done and be done with it.

Mike “Mish” Shedlock