BCC press release: international trade updates
New EU Customs Duties To Hit Small Businesses
Reacting to the EU’s decision today on de minimis exemptions and new customs duties from 1 July 2026, William Bain, Head of Trade Policy, said:
"The decision to charge a flat customs duty of €3 on each commodity code for consignments worth less than €150 entering the EU will have a significant impact on British businesses.
“Although UK originating products will still be tariff free, they will now face customs fees and potentially separate handling charges levied by individual EU countries.
“This extra cost will make goods from Great Britain less attractive to both businesses and people in the EU and squeeze profit margins.
“Major EU customs reforms are due to come into force from January 2028, and the UK government is consulting on the scheme for abolishing the UK de minimis threshold from 2029.
“The government must now consider wider customs reforms and the introduction of a Single Trade Window to ease costs for our firms. It will also need to review the impact of these EU changes on customs rules between Great Britain and Northern Ireland."
More detail on the EU charges
Services Trade Flat As Goods Exports Rebound
Reacting to the latest trade data for October from the Office for National Statistics, William Bain, Head of Trade Policy at the BCC, said:
“Services export growth has been sluggish for several months and this trajectory continued in October. On goods, the rollercoaster ride of 2025 has continued with a strong recovery in automotive exports to the US - following September’s cyber-attack on JLR. Sales of chemicals and pharmaceuticals also saw gains while exports to the EU rose by 2%.
“Overall, it was a mixed picture but there will be rising concern over the poor performance of services exports. These make up the majority of the UK’s export profile, and their continued flatlining paints a picture of slowing global demand and orders.
“With goods exports growth forecast by the OBR to fall to just 0.3% in 2026, questions will continue to be asked about the economic outlook if services also remain lacklustre.”
Goods Trade
A sharp recovery in goods trade with the US was a key feature of October’s data with export values to the US rising by 27%, led by the recovery of Jaguar Land Rover sales. There was also a surge in chemicals and pharmaceuticals exports.
Removing the effects of inflation, UK goods exports rose by 4.9% in October with EU sales up 2% and those to non-EU countries rising by 7.7%.
There was also a huge increase in import values from the US of 51%, although this is principally connected to market fluctuations around precious metals.
The volume of UK imports rose by 1% in October, with the EU up by 0.6% and rest of the world increasing by 1.5%.
Services
UK services export growth remained subdued for a second consecutive month with no growth in volumes in the month of October in a mixed picture for overall UK trade.