§ Mr. WhittingdaleTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the cost to(a) EU countries and (b) the UK economy of tariffs applied by the EU in the last year for which figures are available. [44764]
§ Ms HewittIn 2000, the latest full year for which figures are available, on total UK imports of £222.6 billion the customs duty charged was £1.8 billion.
In the same year on total EU imports, including UK imports, of £1,525 billion, the customs duty charged was £8.9 billion.
§ Mr. WhittingdaleTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many tariffs the EU has applied to goods from outside the EU in each of the last 20 years. [44780]
§ Ms HewittThe European Union's 2002 Common Customs Tariff has 10,400 lines. A positive "most favoured nation" "full" rate of duty is payable on 8,270 of these lines, although in most cases one or more "preferential" (i.e. lower) rates of duty is payable on imports from a range of countries. On the remaining 2,130 lines, no duty is payable.
Equivalent information for earlier years is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.