Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what statutory authorisation she will have to re-impose retaliatory tariffs on exports from the US after 31 December 2020 if satisfactory progress towards an agreeable settlement of the Boeing-Airbus dispute is not made; and what the financial limit is for the re-imposition of those tariffs.

The power to vary import duties in response to a trade dispute, or other issues, is provided in Section 15 of the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018. Section 15 allows the Secretary of State for International Trade to make regulations which vary the applicable import duty on goods originating from a particular country or territory. These changes can be made where the Secretary of State considers it is appropriate to do so, having regard to international arrangements to which the UK is party and any other relevant matters.