Post-Brexit UK tariff regime

The UK government has published details of the UK’s most favoured nation tariff regime, the UK global tariff (UKGT), which the government intends will replace the EU common external tariff on 1 January 2021. The regime will apply where the UK does not have a preferential trade agreement with the exporting country (including the EU and US if trade deals are not concluded in time, and countries where current agreements with the EU are not rolled over to the UK).

The government aims to simplify tariff administration by removing ‘nuisance tariffs’ (2% or lower) completely, and rounding down various tariffs to the nearest standard band. Tariffs are to be removed on certain goods to help reduce costs for UK manufacturers, and for UK consumers where domestic production is either very low or non-existent (for example, some cooking products and dishwashers and freezers). Tariffs will be maintained on agricultural ‘products’ such as beef, lamb and poultry, and also on cars.