Written question asked by Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 14 May 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 18 May 2026. It was answered by Chris Bryant (Labour) on Friday, 22 May 2026 on behalf of the Department for Business and Trade.

Manufactured Goods: UK Trade with EU

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate his Department has made of the potential impact of a UK-EU mutual recognition agreement for manufactured goods on (a) GDP trade volumes and (b) regulatory costs for UK businesses.

Answer: Ahead of the UK-EU Summit in May 2025 we explored several proposals with the EU on manufactured goods. To inform these discussions, the government assessed the potential economic benefits of a range of measures, including the potential impact of mutual recognition agreements for conformity assessment on GDP, manufacturers, and business cost. This assessment indicated such agreements would be mutually beneficial for both the UK and the EU. To protect negotiation-sensitive information the Department will not be publishing this assessment nor its analytical methodology.

Secondary information