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Committee publication · Correspondence · 19 May 2026

Letter to the Minister of State for Trade, the Foreign Office and HM Revenue and Customs relating to UK trade with Israeli settlements, 28 April 2026

From: Business and Trade Committee

Summary

The Business and Trade Committee chair writes to the Ministers of Trade and Foreign Affairs seeking clarification on why the UK has not imposed an import ban on goods from illegal Israeli settlements, despite the government's own characterisation of them as illegal and the ICJ's advisory opinion. The letter follows an unsatisfactory government response from February 2026 and requests specific data on HMRC enforcement and tariff decisions.

Key findings

  • Government's February 2026 response addressed Russian sanctions rather than substantively answering questions about Israeli settlements, leaving the Committee's core question unanswered.
  • The ICJ Advisory Opinion (July 2024) requires states to abstain from economic and trade dealings with occupied territories; the Committee argues labelling alone does not meet this obligation.
  • Israeli cabinet approved 34 new West Bank settlements in April 2026 alone, escalating settler action to extend control over Palestinian land.
  • The Committee asserts the UK has the legal power to ban imports from illegal settlements but has chosen not to, without articulating its reasoning.
  • HMRC enforcement data is opaque: the Committee requests information on refused tariff treatment, proactive origin declarations, and follow-up actions against misclassified goods, broken down by year.

Tone

Critical

Topics

trade-policyisrael-palestinesanctionscustoms-enforcement

Key actors

Liam Byrne MP, Chris Bryant MP, Hamish Falconer MP, John-Paul Marks CB, Business and Trade Committee, HM Revenue and Customs, International Court of Justice

Notable line

“… the Committee must push you further on this. It is our understanding that the UK could, if it wished …”

Key Quotes

“The Committee therefore remains unclear as to why a similar import ban is not in place against goods originating in what the UK Government recognises as illegal Israeli settlements”
— Liam Byrne MP · setting out the Committee's core concern following the government's February response
“… entering into economic or trade dealings”
— International Court of Justice · from ICJ Advisory Opinion requiring states to abstain from such dealings with occupied territories
“It is our understanding that the UK could, if it wished, take further concrete steps against Israeli settlement activity, and enforce a ban on the UK import of these goods. It has chosen not to do so, for reasons the Government appears unwilling to articulate.”
— Liam Byrne MP · summarising the Committee's position on UK legal capacity and government reluctance
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Source · parliament.uk record ↗