Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total level of exports of goods and services produced or sourced in the UK for activities related to the construction and growth of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in (1) 2021, (2) 2022, (3) 2023, (4) 2024, and (5) 2025.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Whilst HMRC holds information on the country of last known destination for exported goods, it does not hold information on how the goods will be used after delivery.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of imports of goods and services into the UK from the Occupied Palestinian Territories originate from, or are linked to, activities related to settlements in (1) 2021, (2) 2022, (3) 2023, (4) 2024, and (5) 2025.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law. Goods produced in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under the UK’s current trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Government of Israel.
Where there are doubts about the origin of goods that have been declared as being of Israeli origin, HMRC will undertake checks to verify the origin of those goods to ensure fiscal compliance. HMRC does not however provide specific details regarding checks as it may serve to undermine compliance activity.