WT/REG428/M/1  
12 December  2022 
(22-9224) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  
Hundred and Fifth Session   
 
TRADE AND PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND ISRAEL  
(GOODS ) 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF  14 NOVEMBER  2022 
Chairm an: Ambassador H.E. Mr. Taeho LEE (Republic of Korea ) 
1.1.  The 10 5th Session of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (hereinafter "CRTA" or 
the "Committee") was convened in Airgram WTO/AIR/RTA/ 30/Rev.1  dated 4 November  2022.  
1.2.  Under Agenda Item F.III of the Session, the CRTA considered the Trade and Partnership 
Agreement between the United Kingdom and Israel , goods  (hereinafter "the Agreement"). The 
Chairman  stated that the factual presentation had been prepared by the Secretariat on its own 
responsib ility in full consultation with the Parties, in accordance with paragraph 7(b) of the 
Transparency Mechanism for Regional Trade Agreements (document WT/L/671).  
1.3.  The Agreement had entered into force on 1 January 2021. It had been notified on 31 December 
2020 under Article  XXIV:7(a) of the GATT  1994 (documents  WT/REG42 8/N/1) as an agreement 
establishing a free trade area for trade in goods within the meaning of Article XXIV of the GATT  1994. 
The text of the Agreement and its Annexes was available on the Partie s' official websites and in the 
WTO RTA database. The Factual Presentation on the goods aspects of the Agreement 
(document  WT/REG42 8/1 dated 12 April 2022) had been distributed  and no questions had been  
received . 
1.4.  The representative of Israel  expressed her gratitude to the Secretariat for the work that went 
into preparing the factual presentation. She also thanked the United Kingdom for its cooperation in 
the exercise.  
1.5.  Over the past 25 years, bilateral trade betwee n the United Kingdom and Israel had risen 
significantly and the UK remained one of Israel's most important trading partners. In 2021, the UK 
was Israel's 6th largest destination for exports and its 9th largest source of imports.  In 2021, Israel's 
main expo rts to the UK included chemicals, rubber and plastics and machinery, while imports from 
the UK mainly consisted of machinery and chemicals.  
1.6.  The UK -Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement, which had entered into force on 
1 January  2021, largely preserved the  trading arrangements established in the EU -Israel 
Trade  Agreement, with the necessary adjustments made to reflect Israel and the UK's trading 
relationship. The agreement aimed to ensure trade continuity between the two countries following 
the UK's withdra wal from the EU, striving to minimize the impact on bilateral trade and regional 
value chains.  
1.7.  The Agreement's tariff liberalization resulted in a total of 93.8% of Israel's tariff lines being  
duty-free for UK imports, while a total of 95.6% of the UK's ta riff lines were duty -free for imports 
from Israel.  
1.8.  Apart from the liberalization of customs tariffs, the Agreement transcended various domains, 
reflecting key WTO principles, such as customs and trade facilitation, cooperation in conformity 
assessment, sa nitary and phytosanitary measures, transparency, and government procurement.  WT/REG428/M/1  
 
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  1.9.  Since the establishment of the Agreement, the UK and Israel had launched negotiations for a 
modern and comprehensive FTA which aimed to include new areas and topics that were not  covered 
by the Agreement. Israel looked forward to further strengthening its trading relationship with the 
UK through the existing and forthcoming trade agreement s. 
1.10.  The representative of the United Kingdom  thanked the Secretariat for the excellent factual  
presentation of the Agreement and the delegation of Israel for their cooperation and input.   
1.11.  The Agreement had been  signed on 18 February 2019 and had been in force since 1 January 
2021.  It reaffirm ed the bilateral relationship and provide d important continuity and predictability to 
individuals, businesses, and stakeholders in both countries.  
1.12.  Israel was one of the UK's most important trading partners in the Middle East and its 
39th  trading partner globally. Israel's economy was worth over USD 480 billion in 2021, according 
to World Bank data, and total trade between the UK and Israel was worth GBP 5.4 billion in 2021.  
Total trade in goods and services between the UK and Israel had increased by more than 33%, or 
GBP 1.5 billion, in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2022 year -on-year. The UK had almost 3% of 
Israel's total market share in 2021.  
1.13.  The Agreement  was a short form agreement, an approach used in other UK continuity 
agreements  that had been ratified since February 2019.  It broadly replicate d the effects of the 
EU-Israel Association Agreement, which  had entered into force in 2000. That include d the 
establishment of institutional arrangements between  the parties based on existing  structures, 
allowing for the ongoing management of the Agreement . 
1.14.  The provisions in the EU -Israel Association Agreement had been  applied mutatis mutandis  
with technical changes necessary to apply the Agreement  as if it had been concluded between the 
UK an d Israel in the first instance.  Where more substantive amendments had been  required to 
ensure operability in a bilateral context, or where the parties agreed that mutatis mutandis  would 
not deliver adequate certainty over rights and obligations, detailed a mendments had been included 
in the Annexes to the Agreement . 
1.15.  The Agreement  liberalise d 2,325 tariff lines covering GBP 428 million in UK exports to Israel. 
Around 513 lines had been  only partially liberalised or not liberalised at all under the existing 
Agreement . However, based on export patterns over the last years, those only cover GBP 6 million 
in annual exports.  
1.16.  The top UK goods export s to Israel in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2022, had been  
intermediate mechanical power generators, mineral manufactures, and medicinal & pharmaceutical 
products.  In the same period, the top good imported to the UK from Israel had been  medicinal and 
pharmaceutical products, mineral manufactures, and intermediate  mechanical power generators.  
1.17.  The Agreement  contain ed limited services provisions. The services commitments reaffirm ed 
the Members obligations under GATS covering establishment and the supply of services buil t upon 
the level of access and the treatment gra nted to all WTO Members under GATS.  
1.18.  The Agreement include d inward TRQs for Israeli exports to the UK and outward TRQs on UK 
exports to Israel. It affirm ed both partners' commitment to international standards and effective 
enforcement and establishe d a rout e for dialogue via the Association Committee.  
1.19.  The Agreement  reaffirm ed the commitments made between both parties in the 
WTO Agreement on Government Procurement and buil t upon Israel's national treatment obligations 
at a municipal level.  It reaffirm ed the W TO obligations the Parties were bound by and include d 
measures to ensure transparency and information sharing between the Parties, with a view to 
preventing unfair trading practices.  
1.20.  Across the whole Agreement, most of the institutional provisions and bodi es provided for in 
the EU -Israel Association Agreement had been  incorporated and retained mutatis mutandis , 
although some modifications had been made to the naming and function of th ose bodies to ensure 
they were operable in a bilateral context.  WT/REG428/M/1  
 
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  1.21.  Negotiatio ns had since begun on a new FTA and the UK looked forward to continuing to work 
closely with Israel to enhance their trading relationship.  
1.22.  The Chairman  opened the floor for comments by Members.  
1.23.  The representative of the European Union  thanked the Parties for the transparency and wished 
them success in its implementation.  
1.24.  The delegate of Costa Rica  congratulate d and thanked the United  Kingdom and Israel for the 
presentation of their factual presentation . 
1.25.  Israel was Costa Rica's  second la rgest trading partner in the Middle East. Over the last 
10 years, bilateral trade flows between them had increased, particularly Cost Rica's exports to Israel . 
In 2021, exports to Israel had grown by 47.2%. Investment inflows to Costa Rica had been primari ly 
in the trade, agriculture and services sectors. In 2022 , the Minister for Foreign Trade of Costa  Rica, 
Mr Manuel  Tovar, visited to Israel with the intention of further deepening their trade and investment 
relationship. The visit was in line with the int erests of Costa Rica to strengthen ties with the region, 
and especially with Israel.  
1.26.  The United Kingdom was one of Costa Rica's most import European trading partners, a 
relationship that had been  strengthened with the entry into force of the Association Agreement 
between Central America and the United Kingdom. It was therefore not surprising that trade flows 
had increased, reaching a 10 -year peak in 2021.  
1.27.  Both countries were friends and important trading partners of Costa Rica, which was why she 
was pleased to participate in the consideration  of the Agreement, even though Costa Rica had not 
submitted any written questions. She emphasize d the great importance that both States attach ed 
to the WTO in their economic integration strategies, as well as their support for the multilateral 
trading system. Given that they had so much in common, it was a pleasure for Costa Rica to 
participate in joint initiatives with both countries  on, for example,  e-commerce , services domestic 
regulation, MSMEs, and trade and environmental sustainability.  
1.28.  With regard to the factual presentation of the Agreement, she was pleased to see that the 
Agreement  cover ed areas of cooperation that would produce positive results for both  Parties , such 
as scientific and technological cooperation, economic cooperation, cooperation on audio -visual and 
cultural matters, information and communication, and social matters, and that it promote d 
cooperation between their small and medium -sized ent erprises. It was a pleasure to find common 
points of interest to Costa Rica, namely, cooperation to prevent deterioration of the environment, 
as well as ensuring the rational use of natural resources, with a view to achieving sustainable 
development and pr omoting regional environmental projects.  She wished Israel and the United 
Kingdom success in the implementation of the A greement.  
1.29.  The representative of the United States  thanked the Parties for their presentation and 
appreciated the transparency  provided . 
1.30.  The representative of Japan  thanked the Parties for their comprehensive and informative 
statements. He appreciated efforts by the Parties and the Secretariat in preparing the factual 
presentation. He wished the Parties success in the implementation of the Agreement.  
1.31.  The representative of Canada  thanked the Members who took part in the work of the 
Committee. He thanked the Parties for their presentation of the Agreement.  
1.32.  The Chairman  noted that the consideration of the Trade and Partne rship Agreement between 
the United Kingdom and Israel  had allowed the Committee to clarify a number of questions and 
conclude oral discussion of the RTA in accordance with paragraph 11 of the Transparency 
Mechanism. Any delegations wishing to ask follow -up questions were invited to forward submissions 
in writing to the Secretariat by 21 November 2022 and the Parties were asked to submit replies in 
writing by no later than 5 December 2022. In accordance with paragraph 13 of the Transparency 
Mechanism all wri tten submissions, as well as the minutes of the meeting would be circulated 
promptly, in all WTO official languages, and made available on the WTO website.  WT/REG428/M/1  
 
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  1.33.  The Committee took note  of the comments made.  
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