The Farm Tractor and Machinery Trade Association (FTMTA) has moved to address uncertainty among its members over tariffs that apply post-Brexit.

Under the EU-UK trade agreement, which was finalised in late December and came into effect on January 1, it is the case that used cars of EU or non-EU origin (except those of UK origin) that have been used in the UK will be subject to a 10% tariff when they are exported to an EU member state.

However, the FTMTA said that this is not the case where used agricultural machinery is concerned.

FTMTA chief executive Gary Ryan explained in a message to members last week: “The tariff in relation to cars is based on rules on preferential origin of products contained in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

“The preferential origin rules have no impact on agricultural machinery, as the prevailing global tariff for agricultural machinery is, in most cases, zero,” he added.

Ryan pointed out that the lowest possible tariff a country can assess on products coming from another country is referred to as ‘most favoured nation’ (MFN) tariff and, in the case of agricultural machinery, that is generally the zero rate.

“Where the MFN rate of duty is zero, as in this case, the preferential rules of origin and the preferential tariffs do not apply,” Ryan concluded.

Source: Agriland.ie