Trade agreements that deliver for businesses in the UK

The chemical sector in the UK fully supports free and fair trade. The consistent and reliable supply of raw materials is critical to an industry that supplies every other UK manufacturing sector. Our products must be traded fairly. From the point of production to regulatory regimes that must be observed, to fair market access and to consistent tariffs on our goods. The modern and comprehensive free trade agreements that the UK is pursuing must focus as much on access and regulatory consistency as they do on tariff liberalisation. CIA will continue to work with Government to ensure industry priorities are understood.

The chemical industry welcomes UK accession to CPTPP and the open negotiations with India, Mexico, Canada, Switzerland and the six countries within the Gulf Cooperation Council. We encourage the Government to make every effort to secure a trade deal with the US which remains the largest single market for UK chemical and pharmaceutical exports. In the absence of any agreement what the UK needs is specific deals on materials including and similar to the Atlantic Declaration on critical minerals. FTAs are important but we will continue to work to ensure the sector benefits from Duty Suspensions, a strong Trade Remedy regime and an open and efficient UK border that makes trading from the UK as seamless as possible.