The British government has removed import duties for leather in its new tariff regime known as the U.K. Global Tariff (UKGT), and which will replace the European Union’s Common External Tariff (CET) from Jan. 1, 2021. But tariffs for leather footwear remain largely unchanged.
The UKGT will apply to goods exported from countries with which the U.K. does not have a preferential agreement. For Turkey, the U.K. plans to continue trading without tariffs on all goods, as is currently the case in the EU-Turkey customs union, by implementing a U.K.-Turkey free trade agreement by the end of 2020. UKGT will apply on goods outside the scope of the agreement.
The U.K. left the EU on Jan. 31 but the CET remains valid during the transition period lasting until Dec. 31.
In a statement, the trade association Leather UK said that it had lobbied to have all import tariffs for leather removed and that it was pleased to report that it has been “successful in eliminating those import tariffs” but however “leather footwear remains largely unchanged, i.e. the current tariffs will continue to apply.”
With the current CET tariff regime bovine crust and finished bovine leather is taxed at 6.5 percent and finished chamois and patent leather at 2.5 percent. Leather UK noted that the codes of some leather goods were also simplified.
According to the UKGT, the import duty on outer soles of shoes made of leather and of leather uppers will also be erased from 3.0 percent currently. But for leather shoes tariffs remain the same for most goods at 8.0 percent.
Footwear with outer soles of rubber or plastics and uppers of textile materials will see tariffs fall to 16.0 percent from 16.9 percent.
The British government noted that all tariffs below 2 percent have been eliminated.
The new tariffs can be viewed at https://www.gov.uk/check-tariffs-1-january-2021.
