Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the terms of (a) Article III of GATT, (b) The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement and (c) the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement on Trans-Pacific Partnership allow HM Treasury to apply lower excise duties to UK manufactured alcoholic beverages than are applied to the equivalent alcoholic beverages imported from one of the other contracting parties to those agreements.

The UK champions rules-based multilateral trade at the WTO. The National Treatment rule under GATT Article III sets out the principle that imported products should not be subject to higher internal taxes than similar domestic products. The UK-EU TCA and CPTPP agreements reiterate this GATT Article III commitment on National Treatment. Measures such as setting excise duties on alcoholic beverages are consistent with the UK’s WTO rights and obligations, including GATT Article III commitments.