Consultation outcome

The UK Global Tariff

This consultation has concluded

Read the full outcome

Public consultation on the UK Global Tariff: summary of public responses

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Public consultation on the UK Global Tariff: government response

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Detail of outcome

We received and reviewed 1,394 responses to this consultation. Read the summary of responses for full details. 

Read the government response to find out how we used the consultation responses to develop our own Most Favoured Nation tariff schedule, the UK Global Tariff.

For more information about the UK Global Tariff read the detailed guide UK tariffs from 1 January 2021


Original consultation

Summary

A consultation to inform our own Most Favoured Nation tariff schedule, the UK Global Tariff.

This consultation ran from
to

Consultation description

The UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020. The Department for International Trade is preparing the UK’s first independent tariff policy in almost fifty years. This Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariff will enter into force on 1 January 2021.

The tariffs will apply to all goods imported into the UK, unless an exception such as a preferential arrangement or tariff suspension applies. In particular, this tariff will not apply to goods coming from developing countries that benefit under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences, or to goods originating from countries with which the UK has negotiated a free trade agreement (FTA).

The Northern Ireland/Ireland Protocol in the Withdrawal Agreement provides for certain specific arrangements as regards Northern Ireland.

In setting the tariff rates, the government will have regard to the principles set out in the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018, namely:

  • the interests of consumers in the United Kingdom
  • the interests of producers in the United Kingdom of the goods concerned
  • the desirability of maintaining and promoting the external trade of the United Kingdom
  • the desirability of maintaining and promoting productivity in the United Kingdom
  • the extent to which the goods concerned are subject to competition

The government will also seek to balance strategic trade objectives, such as the delivery of the UK’s trade ambitions and FTA trade agenda, with maintaining the government’s commitment to developing countries to reduce poverty through trade.

The consultation offers you the opportunity to provide:

  • views on a potential series of amendments to the Common External Tariff to create a bespoke UK tariff- specifically: simplifying and tailoring the UK Global Tariff policy, removing tariffs on goods imported by UK businesses to manufacture other goods, and where the UK has zero or limited domestic production
  • specific feedback on specific products or commodity codes of importance to you, including on the corresponding tariff rate
  • information on your interactions with MFN tariffs and the importance of tariffs to your sectors

For any further queries on guidance or accessibility you can email tariffconsultation@trade.gov.uk. This email address will no longer be monitored once the consultation closes on 5 March 2020.

Documents

Approach to MFN tariff policy

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Information pack for the UK global tariff

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Updates to this page

Published 6 February 2020
Last updated 19 May 2020 + show all updates
  1. Added consultation outcome, including summary of public responses and government response.

  2. First published.

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