LONDON, Mar 06 (BBC): The UK government may cut trade tariffs on between 80 per cent and 90 per cent of goods in the event of a no-deal Brexit, reports say.
Some tariffs would be scrapped completely, including those on car parts, and some agricultural produce.
However, 10-20 per cent of key products would continue to be protected by the current level of tariffs, including some textiles, cars, beef, lamb and dairy.
The government said it would make an announcement once a decision had been finalised.
Tariffs are taxes on imports which protect UK companies from overseas competition.
Many supporters of Brexit argue that tariffs on food and other items should be scrapped in order to lower prices for consumers.
But farmers fear that cheap imports and lower standards would destroy many parts of British agriculture. Similar concerns have been expressed in other sectors of the economy, and many business leaders fear the government could be tempted to cut tariffs at their expense.
The plans for widespread cuts in tariffs were first reported by Sky News.
Business Secretary Greg Clark told BBC Radio 4's Today programmeme that new tariff schedules would be published only after next week's Commons vote on Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal if it became clear the UK would be leaving the EU without a deal. The changes would have "big implications" for some sectors, he said.
"We have been consulting with different industry sectors on this. It has big implications for different sectors. Ceramics is an industry that I know very well. It has been subject to very unfair competition, to dumping of very cheap ceramic exports from the Far East, from China."
