The United Kingdom announced a new post-Brexit tariff regime on Tuesday to replace the European Union's external tariff.
Ciara Lee reports
UK announces new post-Brexit global tariff regime
After decades outsourcing its trade policy to the EU, Britain is seeking free trade agreements with countries around the world.
It's on a mission to have deals in place covering 80% of British trade by 2022.
On Tuesday (May 19) the UK announced a new post-Brexit regime to replace the EU's external tariff.
The plan, called the UK Global Tariff keeps a 10% tariff on cars but cuts levies on tens of billions of dollars of supply chain imports.
It's to be enforced from January, and marks a departure from what some UK officials call an overly complex EU system.
Britain is currently negotiating trade deals with both the U.S. and the Brussels-based bloc.
The new regime will maintain tariffs on products competing with industries such as agriculture, automotive and fishing.
But it will remove levies on imports worth 30 billion pounds - about 37 billion dollars - entering UK supply chains.
The government said that while almost all pharmaceuticals and most medical devices, including ventilators, are already tariff-free, some products used to fight the crisis still face duties.
It's introducing a temporary zero rate on these products, including for personal protective equipment from non-EU countries.