Policy paper: UK goods and services schedules at the WTO

The United Kingdom has formally submitted its schedule of commitments under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and its schedule of commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) to the World Trade Organization (WTO). This development marks a significant milestone in the country’s engagement with the multilateral trading system as it continues to delineate its market access commitments across goods and services in a post-Brexit environment.

Context and significance
– Multilateral integration: By submitting its GATT and GATS schedules, the UK reaffirmes its commitment to the rules-based trading system embodied by the WTO. These schedules outline the specific accessions and limitations the UK places on market access, national treatment, and other core disciplines within goods and services trade.
– Transparency and predictability: The schedules provide traders, investors, and regulators with a clear, public reference for the UK’s trade commitments. This enhances transparency and helps set expectations for cross-border trade, regulatory alignment, and dispute resolution.
– Policy clarity post-Brexit: In the wake of leaving the European Union, the UK has been building its own trade policy framework. The submission of these schedules signals a formal step in codifying the country’s trade regime at the multilateral level, complementing bilateral and regional agreements already in place or under negotiation.

GATT commitments: goods and market access
– Tariffs and tariff-rate quotas: The GATT schedule specifies the tariff bindings the UK commits to applying to goods originating from WTO members. It delineates any bindings, concessions, and tariff-rate quotas that govern the entry price of goods into the UK market.
– National treatment and non-discrimination: The schedule emphasises the UK’s commitment to treating foreign goods no less favourably than domestically produced goods once they have cleared the border, subject to the terms of the bindings.
– Non-tariff measures and safeguards: While tariffs are a focal point, the GATT framework also governs non-tariff measures, quantitative restrictions (where permissible), and safeguard measures that the UK may employ under WTO disciplines.
– Transparency and administration: The schedule contributes to predictable customs administration, import licensing practices (if any), and the procedural obligations that facilitate trade flow and reduce unnecessary friction at the border.

GATS commitments: services and market access
– Scope of services commitments: The GATS schedule outlines the sectors in which the UK provides market access and the level of national treatment granted to service suppliers from other WTO members.
– Modes of supply: The commitments cover the four modes of supply for services—cross-border supply, consumption abroad, commercial presence, and presence of natural persons. The schedule clarifies the UK’s stance on these modes for different sectors.
– Regulatory openness and disciplines: The GATS schedule reflects limits, exceptions, or liberalisation steps in sectors such as financial services, professional services, telecommunications, and more. It captures the UK’s approach to regulatory transparency, domestic regulation, and the treatment of foreign service providers.
– Economic integration and competition: The schedule helps capture the UK’s approach to competition in services markets, including any regulatory barriers, licensing requirements, or mutual recognition arrangements that shape cross-border service trade.

Impact on stakeholders
– Importers and exporters: Businesses can reference the WTO schedules to assess tariff exposure and the treatment of imports. This informs pricing strategies, supply chain decisions, and compliance planning.
– Service providers: Companies operating in sectors open to foreign competition can gauge the market-access commitments, licensing regimes, and potential avenues for cross-border or presence-based trade.
– Regulators and policymakers: The schedules provide a framework within which domestic regulatory reforms can be designed, ensuring coherence with international commitments and reducing the risk of inadvertent distortions.

Looking ahead
– Ongoing engagement within the WTO: The submission aligns the UK with WTO procedures, inviting member engagement, possible schedules-based dispute considerations, and ongoing transparency in trade commitments.
– Complementarity with other agreements: The GATT and GATS schedules operate alongside bilateral and regional trade accords. They serve as a baseline of multilateral discipline, while bilateral arrangements can offer additional liberalisation and sector-specific commitments.
– Economic strategy and resilience: In a broader sense, these schedules support the UK’s ambition to strengthen its global trade footprint, diversify trading relationships, and foster a resilient, rules-based trade environment for businesses and consumers alike.

In summary, the UK’s submission of its GATT and GATS schedules to the WTO represents a meaningful step in embedding its trading commitments within the multilateral framework. The schedules provide a clear, public reference for how goods and services trade are governed, supporting predictability, regulatory coherence, and continued engagement with the rules-based international trade order.

July 23, 2026 at 05:07PM
政策文件：英国在世贸组织的货物与服务安排
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-goods-and-services-schedules-at-the-wto
英国已向世界贸易组织（WTO）提交了在《关税与贸易总协定》（GATT）项下的承诺表，以及在《服务贸易总协定》（GATS）项下的承诺表。

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