Brexit: Tariffs kept on motorcycles coming to the UK but ‘parts and engines’ tariffs dropped to 0% for 12 months.

Here’s what the Government is saying about motorcycles (and motorcycle parts) coming into the UK over the immediate future. This could change in light of a no-deal Brexit but, as we stand today, here’s the rub.

Tarriffs are being kept on motorcycles coming into the UK (that ranges from 8% to 6% of the motorcycle value depending on engine size – this was listed as a ‘third country duty’ by the trade tariff service and will now apply to ALL motorcycles coming in from outside the UK) but for a full year, component parts and engines coming in will have a zero tariff applied to them.

Here’s the actual wording from the Government on the matter as outlined by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond:

• Tariffs have been retained on finished vehicles, including cars, goods vehicles, road tractors, buses and motorcycles. These goods are likely to face high tariffs in export markets, particularly the EU where finished vehicles are some of the highest amongst industrial goods sectors. The automotive vehicles sector is highly export intensive and this will negatively affect UK exports. Retaining UK tariffs will help put this strategically important sector in a better position in the domestic market. The more cautious approach on automotive vehicles takes into account broader market developments surrounding the sector, and it is in line with their treatment in previous Free Trade Agreements where tariffs are eliminated slowly to avoid sudden market disruption whereas most other industrial products are liberalised much faster. This is likely however to put upward pressure on prices. However, in line with the broader approach to intermediate goods, tariffs on Automotive components – including engines – will be lowered to 0% for the duration of the 12-month period. This is intended to avoid imposing import tariff costs on UK manufacturers, given the highly integrated nature of UK-EU supply chains.