There can be no final decisions on the future of the Irish border until the UK and the EU have reached a trade agreement, Liam Fox has said.
The UK's international trade secretary also blamed the EU for Brexit delays.
The comments came after the Irish Republic's EU commissioner said Dublin could veto Brexit trade talks.
The EU has said "sufficient progress" has to be made on the Irish border before negotiations on a future relationship can begin.
Downing Street has said the whole of the UK will leave both the customs union and the single market when it leaves the EU in 2019.
"We don't want there to be a hard border but the UK is going to be leaving the customs union and the single market," Mr Fox told Sky News.
He added: "We can't come to a final answer to the Irish question until we get an idea of the end state. And until we get into discussions with the EU on the end state that will be very difficult - so the quicker we can do that the better, and we are still in a position where the EU doesn't want to do that."
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