The Developing Countries Trading Scheme ("DCTS") is a British system of graduated tariffs on goods imported to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

from many countries of the

developing world A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreeme ...

, including the

least developed countries The least developed countries (LDCs) are developing countries listed by the United Nations that exhibit the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development. The concept of LDCs originated in the late 1960s and the first group of LDCs was listed b ...

. The DCTS removes or reduces tariffs and simplifies trading rules."Britain launches preferential trade scheme with developing countries"

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

, 19 June 2023 The standard preferences rate is suspended on "standard preferences imports" from 19 June 2023 until 31 December 2025, a period which may be extended. The Scheme consists of three different regimes – one for least developed countries (LDCs), one for low and lower-middle-income countries which are not LDCs but are deemed to be "vulnerable", and one for other such countries. The DCTS makes it easier for an LDC to move on into the intermediary "Enhanced Preferences" scheme when it "graduates", which means losing LDC status. For most countries, moving out of the list of LDCs will have little impact on trade, and also less than under the previous regime.Mohammad Abdur Razzaque
"What the United Kingdom’s new Developing Countries Trading Scheme means for least developed countries (LDCs), including countries in the graduation process"

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, accessed 20 June 2023

Goods graduation

Goods graduation is defined as the suspension of preferential rates of customs duty on imports, which are thus more competitive without trade preferences.

Legislation

The legal basis of the DCTS is in Schedule 3 of the Trade Preference Scheme (Developing Countries Trading Scheme) Regulations 2023 and in the Customs (Origin of Chargeable Goods: Developing Countries Trading Scheme) Regulations 2023. The DCTS replaced the former Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) with effect from 19 June 2023, when all previous goods graduation notices ceased to apply."Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS): goods graduation from 19 June 2023"
19 June 2023, accessed 19 June 2023 The outgoing scheme was largely the same as the European Union's.

Countries affected

The DCTS applies to 65 developing countries which have a total population of 3.3 billion people, of whom half are in

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

, most of the rest in

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

. The countries whose goods are affected are listed in the Standard Preferences framework of the DCTS. Suspension of the scheme can be applied to goods from these countries, and at the outset some goods coming from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

were so excluded.

Notes

{{reflist

External links

"Use the Developing Countries Trading Scheme to import goods"
at Department for Business and Trade
SI 557: The Customs (Origin of Chargeable Goods: Developing Countries Trading Scheme) Regulations 2023
legislation.gov.uk Foreign trade of the United Kingdom Department for Business and Trade Statutory instruments of the United Kingdom Customs duty rates by countries and regions

Goods graduation

Legislation

Countries affected

See also

Notes

External links