UK to cut taxes from around 99% of goods imported from Africa

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UK to cut taxes from around 99% of goods imported from Africa

10:24 CAT | 17 Aug 2022

Image: Africa News

The UK is to cut import taxes on hundreds more products from some of the world’s developing countries to boost trade links.

The Department for International Trade said Monday the measure was part of a wider push by the UK to use trade to “drive prosperity and help eradicate poverty”, as well as reduce dependency on aid.

The scheme covers 65 developing countries and will affect around 99% of goods imported from Africa.

Goods such as clothes, shoes and foods not widely produced in the UK will benefit from lower or zero tariffs. But goods and services from Africa make up just a tiny share of the UK’s imports, accounting for 2.5% of the total goods imported into Britain.

READ: Britain launches trade system for developing countries

Only eight nations from sub-Saharan Africa mostly former colonies count the UK in their top 10 export destinations, including Rwanda, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Mozambique, Kenya and South Africa. Britain has been long criticized for undervaluing trade with Africa. The amount of products Britain sends to Africa isn’t just small, it’s also shrinking.

The Developing Countries Trading Scheme comes into force in January and builds on a scheme the UK was first part of while a member of the European Union.