Imports: Occupied Territories
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what investigations his Department is conducting into goods originating from Israeli settlements within the Occupied Palestinian Territories being labelled as originating from within Israel’s pre-1967 borders; and what enforcement measures are available.
Answered by Mr Douglas Alexander
The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law. Goods produced in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under the UK’s current trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Government of Israel.
The overseas business risk guidance, available on gov.uk, provides information for UK operators on how goods from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be labelled.
Where there are doubts about the declared origin of goods, HMRC undertakes checks to verify the origin of those goods to ensure compliance.
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