If the United Kingdom leaves the European Union (EU) without a deal, almost all fashion and textile products will be able to enter the country duty free and different rates of customs duty on imports needs to be paid. The UK Government would not introduce any new checks or controls on goods at the land border between Ireland and Northern Ireland in that case.
The UK Government recently published details of which imports into the UK would be subject to new import tariffs if it leaves the EU under a ‘no deal’ scenario. The import tariff schedule is only temporary and would last for 12 months from the date that we leave the EU without a deal, the UK Fashion and Textile Association posted on its website.
This list includes around 80 fashion products, including jeans, T-shirts and men’s jackets, and a dozen other products including some gloves, bed linen and table linen. The average tariff rate for these 100 products will be 12 per cent. Countries like Bangladesh and Nepal that get duty free access to the United Kingdom under the generalised system of preferences or the Everything but Arms (EBA) scheme would not be subject to any import tariff. In the event of a no deal, the average EU tariffs are 4 per cent for yarn, 8 per cent for fabric and 12 per cent for apparel. Footwear and accessories like handbags would have different tariffs.
