The European Union will introduce tariffs on UK exports and imports in case of a no-deal Brexit, the chief spokesman for the European Commission said Wednesday, several hours after the UK government reportedly announced plans to cut tariffs on most of the imports in a no-deal scenario.
“We take note of the United Kingdom’s plans for temporary tariffs in the case of no deal. We will carefully analyse the compliance of the UK plans with [World Trade Organisation] WTO law… In the event of no deal, the Union has already made clear that it will apply its normal third-country trade regime to all trade with the United Kingdom”, Margaritis Schinas told a press conference.
According to UK media reports, the UK government wants to lift duties off 87 percent of imports on a temporary basis in a bid to protect businesses and consumers from a sudden increase in costs.