Distributing a product

Evolution of the sector

Organizations in the retail sector

British Retail Consortium

We can identify professional tradeshows on your sector.

Market access procedures

International Conventions

Member of World Trade Organisation
Member of OECD
Party to the Kyoto protocol
Party to the Washington convention on International trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora
Party to the Basel convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their disposal
Party to the Montreal protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer
Wassenaar arrangement on export controls for conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies
Party of the International coffee agreement 2001

Main International economic cooperation

As a member of the European Union, the UK is also part of the European Union Customs Union. It participates in the free trade arrangements of the EU and European Free Trade Association (EFTA). However, it has not adopted the Euro as its currency, which is the British Pound. It is a member of the World Trade Organization and G8. The European Union is a signatory to multilateral and bilateral agreements with many countries.

Non tariff barriers

In accordance with its European Union membership, United Kingdom applies the European Union (EU) rules that are in force in all European Union countries. While the EU has a rather liberal foreign trade policy, there is a certain number of restrictions, especially on farm products, following the implementation of the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy): the application of compensations on import and export of farm products aimed at favouring the development of agriculture within the EU, implies a certain number of control and regulation systems for the goods entering the EU territory.
Moreover, for sanitary reasons, regarding Genetically Modified Organisms (after being allowed in the European territory), their presence should be systematically specified on packagings. The beef cattle bred on hormones is also forbidden to import.
The BSE crisis (often called the "mad cow disease") urged the European Authorities to strengthen the phytosanitary measures to make sure of the quality of meats entering and circulating in the EU territory. The principle of precaution is now widespread: in case of doubt, the import is prohibited until proof is made of the non-harmfullness of products.

Customs duties and taxes on imports

The average rate effectively applied to manufactured goods, minerals and metals in EU 15, as evaluated by UNCTAD was 1.44% in 2006.The duties for non-European countries are relatively low, especially for manufactured goods (4.2% on average for the general rate). It is one of the lowest in the world. More detailed Customs tariffs can be found at Export. classified by product type.

Customs classification

The Combined Nomenclature of the European Community (EC) integrates the HS nomenclature and supplements it with its own subheadings with an eight digit code number and its own Legal Notes created for Community purposes.

Import procedures

When introducing goods into United Kingdom, exporters shall fill in an intrastat declaration.. An individual valuation declaration should normally accompany the import entry for goods liable to customs duty where the value of the goods exceeds £6,000. However, if you regularly import dutiable goods, you can save time by completing and registering a general valuation statement. Detailed procedures are available on the English government website.

As part of the "SAFE" standards advocated by the World Customs Organization (WCO), the European Union has set up a new system of import controls, the "Import Control System" (ICS), which aims to secure the flow of goods at the time of their entry into the customs territory of the EU. This control system, part of the Community Program eCustomer, has been in effect since January 1, 2011. Since then, operators are required to pass an Entry Summary Declaration (ENS) to the customs of the country of entry, prior to the introduction of goods into the customs territory of the European Union.

Importing samples

It is possible to import goods deemed to be of negligible value, such as commercial samples, free of duty and VAT. For futher information visit the English government website.

For further information

Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs
The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform

We can indicate you which are the customs duties applied to your product.

Find out the local taxes that apply to your product.

Organizing goods transport

Main useful means of transport

97% of the British external trade volume is handled by sea transport: it consists in about 600 million tons a year. There are hundreds of ports well-equipped for goods transportation. The most important are London, Plymouth, Southampton, Aberdeen, Liverpool, Felixstowe and Dover. England, Scotland, and Wales hold more than 80 ports as members in the British Ports Association, whose aim is to represent and protect its members from the market turmoil and to integrate European and international policies. The domestic connections are regularly ensured by domestic companies like British Midlands, Air UK / KLM, Easyjet and British Airways.

Roads are dense and effective. United Kingdom is a powerful market of the European road transport and since the market was liberalised on the European level, this sector has undergone strong upheavals. The government, through the Department of Transport, has called on the private sector to finance the creation, financing and construction of new roads, and a toll-system on highways will be the next step.

Various plans of improvement of the railway infrastructure such as the modernisation of tracks in West Midlands, a high speed connection between South and North as well as a project joining the East and the West are under study.

Since December 1994, Great Britain has been connected with the European continent by the Channel, exploited by Eurotunnel company and the train Eurostar (Eurotunnel). An overview of the British rail system can be found on Rail.co.uk.

Ports

Heathrow International Airport
British Ports Association
Port of London
UK Rail
Eurostar
The tube

Airports

Heathrow International Airport

Sea transport organizations

Air transport organizations

British Airports Authority (BAA)

Road transport organizations

Rail transport organizations

UK Rail
Department of transport

Get a ballpark figure for transportation costs for your product in this country through a shipping estimate.

Identifying a supplier

Type of production

Manufacturing contributes around 26% of the UK 's GDP, with engineering and allied industries (transport, electronics) the single largest sector. Other significant sectors include chemical and chemical-based products.

Business directories

Yellow Pages
UK Business Directory

Manufacturers associations of the main industries

CBI (Confederation of British Industry)
The Society of British Aerospace Companies
Industry Forum of the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT)

Trade Agencies and their representations abroad

Enterprises federation

The Confederation of British Industries
Federation of Small Businesses

Standards

National standards organizations

British Standards Institution

Integration in the international standards network

The UK is a member body of the International Organization for Standardization and a full member of the International Electrotechnical Commission. It is also a member state of the International Telecommunication Union.
There are also some specific EU standards: European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC), European Telcommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), European Committee for Standardization (ECS), handling all other standards.

Classification of standards

There are over 27,000 British Standards in use and 2000 are produced annually.CE is the European certification mark. It is compulsory for a country to be able to sell on the market.

Online consultation of standards

The BSI Shop offers a full catalogue of standards and publications, many of which are available as PDF downloads.

Certification organizations

The United Kingdom Accreditation Service.

Find out the standards and labelling requirements that apply to your products.

Intellectual Property

National organizations

The UK Intellectual Property Office, The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS).

The United Kingdom is part of the Agreement of Paris for the protection of industrial property and of the Agreement establishing the World Intellectual property Organization (WIPO). The United Kingdom signed the Patent Co-operation Treaty and the Agreement of Nice.

International membership

Member of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)
Signatory to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Intellectual Property