Imports: Israel and Occupied Territories
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Treasury's press release, Millions to benefit from lower travel and food costs, of 27 May 2026, whether the tariff reductions on the 125 types of goods will include goods imported from (a) Israel and (b) the Occupied Territories.
Answered by Chris Bryant
The Government has launched a call for input on suspending tariffs on a range of agri food, which is due to close on 24 June 2026.
Any suspensions, where implemented, will apply on a Most Favoured Nation basis. This means they can apply to all imports of the specified goods. Where relevant, other measures like trade remedies and sanctions will continue to apply.
We ensure that we do not enter treaty relations nor economic and trade dealings with Israel that include occupied Palestinian territory, and all our licensed exports to Israel are rigorously assessed against the Strategic Exports Licensing Criteria. We have also taken action to tackle settler violence and announced four packages of sanctions targeting organisations and individuals involved in financing, enabling and carrying out settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
We reiterate the call that Israel should end its occupation of Palestine as rapidly as possible. We respect international law and continue to ensure the UK complies with its obligations.
The UK government does not recognise illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine and we strongly advise UK businesses and citizens against conducting any economic activities in settlements. Under our existing free trade agreement with Israel, the UK excludes illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine from the scope of the agreement. Settlements are illegal under international law, damaging to peace efforts, and call into question Israel’s commitment to the two-state solution. Therefore products from the illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine cannot avail of preferential rates under the FTA, and are subject to MFN trade instead.
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