THE United Kingdom's recently reviewed policies will see African traders and entrepreneurs benefiting from the new reforms expected to simplify and strengthen trade with Africa.
The reforms are expected to strengthen economic ties and simplify access to the UK market.
UK development minister Jenny Chapman said the world was changing and countries in the Global South wanted a different relationship with the UK as a trading partner.
She said the new rules would make it easier for developing countries to trade more closely with the UK.
“This is good for their economies and for UK consumers and businesses,” she said.
In 2024, more than £3,2 billion worth of goods were imported into the UK from African countries, which propelled benefits from preferences granted by the UK’s development trading arrangements.
According to a statement released yesterday, the upgrades include an easier rule of margin, which will enable the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) countries to source inputs for finished goods.
Countries such as Nigeria have benefited from this as they have ensured that goods will enter the UK tariff-free.
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According UK’s Trade minister, Douglas Alexander, trade has been an essential ingredient in lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty all over the globe.
“No country has ever lifted itself out of poverty without trading with its neighbours,” he said.
The DCTS, which was launched in 2023, serves the role of maintaining trade relations with developing countries.
While covering 65 countries, it offers reduced or zero tariffs on thousands of products, thus boosting economic growth and unleashing new potential.
