The United Kingdom announced this week the launch of its new Developing Countries Trading Scheme. This action will place extend tariff cuts to hundreds of products exported from developing countries than what is currently provided for under the European Union's Generalized Scheme of Preferences.
Since their withdrawal from the EU, the UK has made a stance to take back control of their current trade policy and focus on making more decisions that support UK business. These changes are suspected to help with the cost of living, and support the economies of developing countries around the world. The UK Secretary of State for International Trade Annie-Marie Trevelyan commented on these changes "Businesses can look forward to less red tape and lower costs, incentivizing firms to import goods from developing countries."
The DCTS according to UK press covers 65 countries across Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. The new changes will add thousands of products developing countries can already export from the UK duty-free and will result in zero or low duties on a "wide variety of products - from clothes and shoes to foods that are not widely produced in the UK including olive oil and tomatoes" The scheme will also remove some seasonal tariffs and simplify rules of origin, thus "encouraging developing countries to play a larger role in the global trade community."
The press release notes the the DCTS is part of a wider push by the United Kingdom to drive a free-trade, pro-growth agenda across the glob. The drive includes a new initiative called Platinum Partnerships that is designed to grow trade between the UK and selected lower and middle-income Commonwealth countries and reduce dependency on aid. The UK also recently announced a new Trade Center of Expertise that will bring together the best of British expertise to give partner government tools to more actively participate in the global trading system.
Source Citation: 2022 Sandler, Travis & Rosenburg, P.A. WorldTrade Interactive, Inc.