Market access barrier statistics: April to June 2023
Published 18 December 2023
漏 Crown copyright 2023
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1. Purpose
This release covers statistics on the market access barriers (MAB) reported and resolved by His Majesty鈥檚 Government officials in Quarter 1 (April to June) of the financial year ending (FYE) 2024. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) records these barriers on a system internal to government called Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
This quarterly publication includes:
- headline statistics on the number of聽MAB听谤别辫辞谤迟别诲
- headline statistics on the number of聽MAB听谤别蝉辞濒惫别诲
- a breakdown of the above statistics by聽HMTC听谤别驳颈辞苍蝉
- total numbers of trading partners where barriers were reported and resolved
- a comparison of the above statistics with Quarter 4 (January to March) of the聽FYE听2023
笔谤别惫颈辞耻蝉濒测,听DBT聽has published the headline figures on聽MAB聽annually as Official Statistics. To meet users鈥� demand, in the聽聽published in June 2023, we announced that we will also be moving to quarterly publications. The more frequent release of data on a quarterly basis not only disseminates these statistics in a timelier manner but also increases transparency and understanding of market access activities for users. Frequent publication of market access barrier statistics also provides signal to both consumers and businesses abroad, that there is greater commitment from the government to resolve market access barriers and unlock trade opportunities abroad.
This will be the first quarterly Official Statistics release covering the data of Quarter 1 of the聽FYE听2024. These statistics were designated as Official Statistics to improve the accuracy and consistency of the data. This is because these are聽DBT鈥檚 Outcome Delivery Plan metrics and are regularly published in our聽聽as indicators on departmental performance. Although these statistics provide a snapshot of market access activity, they do not provide an indication on the complexity or value represented by barriers that have been resolved, or that are currently the subject of聽DBT鈥檚 market access activity. The valuation for a sample of resolved barriers are routinely included in our聽.
DBT聽also releases information on trade barriers through the聽. This provides information on a selection of barriers reported and barriers resolved by sector and location. The purpose is to raise awareness for UK businesses on a selection of the barriers聽DBT聽has worked to resolve or is working to resolve.聽CITS聽publishes details for a selection of barriers. Certain barriers can be deemed unsuitable for publication for a variety of reasons, these include potential commercial or trade negotiation sensitivities. However, this statistical release provides headline figures on all the reported and resolved barriers for a reporting period.
2. Reported market access barriers headline statistics
2.1 Reported market access barriers in Quarter 1 (April to June) of the聽FYE听2024
71 reported barriers on DMAS
Figure 1 below shows that in Quarter 1 of the聽FYE听2024, 71 market access barriers were reported on聽DMAS, which is 9 fewer than Quarter 4 (January to March) of the聽FYE听2023 when 80 barriers were reported.
Figure 1: Number of reported market access barriers in Quarter 4 (Jan to Mar) of the聽FYE听2023 and Quarter 1 (Apr to June) of the聽FYE听2024
| Number of reported barriers | |
|---|---|
| FYE 2023 Quarter 4聽 | 80 |
| FYE 2024 Quarter 1聽聽 | 71 |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
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2.2 Reported market access barriers by聽HMTC听谤别驳颈辞苍 in Quarter 1 (April to June) of the聽FYE听2024
27 highest reported on DMAS in Europe
The number of barriers reported within a geographic area can provide an indication of market access activity. However, this should not be understood as a complete indicator of the market access conditions within聽HMTC听谤别驳颈辞苍蝉, or how they have changed. Instead, it represents the market access barriers that have been reported to聽DBT.
Table 1 below shows that in Quarter 1 of the聽FYE听2024, Europe had the highest number of barriers reported (27). This was also the case in Quarter 4 of the聽FYE听2023 where Europe had the highest number of barriers reported (17). There is a variation in the number of reported barriers across regions between time periods. This has less to do with changes in the market access conditions but more likely to reflect a mix of聽DBT鈥檚 operational activity and the firm behaviour/experience within the regions. A lot of this would be driven by whether firms experience a market access barrier in each reporting period and then whether they decide to engage on the issue with the聽DBT聽officials in the region. As a longer time series is developed through publication of quarterly statistics, this will allow a better understanding of the variation and volatility of the statistics over time and by regions.
Table 1: Number of reported market access barriers by聽HMTC听谤别驳颈辞苍蝉 in Quarter 4 (Jan to Mar) of the聽FYE听2023 and Quarter 1 (Apr to June) of the聽FYE听2024
| HMTC听搁别驳颈辞苍 | FYE听2023 Quarter 4 | FYE听2024 Quarter 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | 9 | 6 |
| Asia Pacific | 9 | 12 |
| China and Hong Kong | 6 | 4 |
| Eastern Europe and Central Asia | 8 | 6 |
| Europe | 17 | 27 |
| Latin America | 16 | 9 |
| Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan | 1 | 7 |
| North America | 4 | 0 |
| South Asia | 10 | 0 |
| Total | 80 | 71 |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
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Table 2 below presents the percent share of聽HMTC听谤别驳颈辞苍蝉 in total barriers reported across all regions in Quarter 4 of the聽FYE听2023 and Quarter 1 of the聽FYE听2024. The table shows that in Quarter 1 of the聽FYE听2024, Europe had the largest proportion of total barriers reported (38.0%). This was also the case in Quarter 4 of the聽FYE听2023 where Europe had the largest proportion as well (21.3%).
Table 2: Proportion of reported market access barriers by聽HMTC听谤别驳颈辞苍蝉 in Quarter 4 (Jan to Mar) of the聽FYE听2023 and Quarter 1 (Apr to June) of the聽FYE听2024
| HMTC听搁别驳颈辞苍 | FYE听2023 Quarter 4 % of total | FYE听2024 Quarter 1 % of total |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | 11.3% | 8.5% |
| Asia Pacific | 11.3% | 16.9% |
| China and Hong Kong | 7.5% | 5.6% |
| Eastern Europe and Central Asia | 10.0% | 8.5% |
| Europe | 21.3% | 38.0% |
| Latin America | 20.0% | 12.7% |
| Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan | 1.3% | 9.9% |
| North America | 5.0% | 0.0% |
| South Asia | 12.5% | 0.0% |
| Total | 100.0% | 100.0% |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
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2.3 聽Number of trading partners where market access barriers were reported in Quarter 1 (April to June) of the聽FYE听2024
Figure 2 below shows a count of trading partners where barriers were reported in Quarter 4 of the聽FYE听2023 and Quarter 1 of the聽FYE听2024. In Quarter 1 of the聽FYE听2024, 37 trading partners reported 65 barriers on聽DMAS. This is 4 fewer than Quarter 4 of the聽FYE听2023 when 41 trading partners reported 79 barriers on聽DMAS.
Figure 2: Number of reported market access barriers by trading partners in Quarter 4 (Jan to Mar) of the聽FYE听2023 and Quarter 1 (Apr to June) of the聽FYE听2024
| Number of Trading Partners/Barriers Reported | FYE 2023 Quarter 4聽聽 | FYE 2024 Quarter 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Number of trading partners reporting a barrier聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 | 41 | 37 |
| Number of barriers reported from trading partners | 79 | 65 |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
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Note: the above table does not include barriers reported by trading blocs.
3. Resolved market access barriers headline statistics
3.1 Resolved market access barriers in Quarter 1 (April to June) of the聽FYE听2024, as recorded on聽DMAS
19 resolved in full
12 resolved in part
When the underlying issues related to a market access barrier have been addressed and are no longer acting as an impediment to trade,聽DBT聽staff update the聽DMAS聽entry with status as 鈥渞esolved鈥�. Barriers on聽DMAS聽can be marked as 鈥渞esolved in full鈥� when the issue has been fully addressed or 鈥渞esolved in part鈥� when only a part of the issues related to a barrier is resolved.
The statistics on resolved barriers in Figure 3 below show that in Quarter 1 of the聽FYE听2024.
31 market access barriers were marked as either fully resolved or resolved in part - this is 12 fewer barriers than Quarter 4 of the聽FYE听2023, of which:
-
19 barriers were resolved in full - this is 11 fewer barriers compared with Quarter 4 of the聽FYE听2023
-
12 barriers were resolved in part - this is one fewer barrier compared with Quarter 4 of the聽FYE听2023
Note: for some barriers, between any 2 quarters, the聽DMAS聽status could change from 鈥榬esolved in part鈥� to 鈥榬esolved in full鈥� or vice versa.
Figure 3: Number of resolved market access barriers, in part and in full, in Quarter 4 (Jan to Mar) of the聽FYE听2023 and Quarter 1 (Apr to June) of the聽FYE听2024
| Reporting period聽聽聽 | FYE 2023 Quarter 4 | FYE 2024 Quarter 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Resolved in part聽聽聽 | 13 | 12听听 |
| Resolved in full聽聽聽聽聽 | 听30 | 19 |
| 罢辞迟补濒听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 | 听43 | 31 |
Source:聽DBT聽internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
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Note: statistics on resolved barriers will be affected by factors such as:
- scope of resolution (whether it is fully or partially resolved)
- profile of barriers resolved (the time and action required to resolve any individual barrier can vary considerably)
- operational factors and reporting behaviour (for instance, data lags between a barrier being resolved and its聽DMAS聽status being updated to reflect this)
3.2 Resolved market access barriers by聽HMTC听谤别驳颈辞苍 in Quarter 1 (April to June) of the聽FYE听2024, as recorded on聽DMAS
8 highest number resolved in Africa and Latin America
1 lowest number resolved in Asia Pacific, China and Hong Kong, North America, and South Asia
The number of barriers resolved within a geographic area can provide an indication of market access activity. It is not however, the sole means to determine the effectiveness or impact of market access barrier resolution activity. Headline figures on resolved barriers do not give any indication of the level of activity required to achieve a resolution, nor the scale of opportunities posed by the barriers resolved.
Table 3 below shows that in Quarter 1 of the聽FYE听2024, Africa (8) and Latin America (8) had the highest number of barriers resolved; whereas, in Quarter 4 of the聽FYE听2023, Europe (11) had the highest number of barriers resolved across聽HMTC听谤别驳颈辞苍蝉.
Table 3: Number of resolved market access barriers, in part and in full, by聽HMTC听谤别驳颈辞苍蝉 in Quarter 4 (Jan to Mar) of the聽FYE听2023 and Quarter 1 (Apr to June) of the聽FYE听2024
| HMTC听谤别驳颈辞苍 | Resolved in part聽FYE听2023 Quarter 4 | Resolved in full聽FYE听2023 Quarter 4 | Total for聽FYE听2023 Quarter 4 | Resolved in part聽FYE听2024 Quarter 1 | Resolved in full聽FYE听2024 Quarter 1 | Total for聽FYE听2024 Quarter 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| Asia Pacific | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| China and Hong Kong | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Eastern Europe and Central Asia | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Europe | 2 | 9 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Latin America | 0 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan | 3 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| North America | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| South Asia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 13 | 30 | 43 | 12 | 19 | 31 |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
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Table 4 below shows that in Quarter 1 of the聽FYE听2024, Africa (25.8%) and Latin America (25.8%) had the largest proportion of barriers resolved; whereas, in Quarter 4 of the聽FYE听2023, Europe (25.6%) had the largest proportion of barriers resolved across聽HMTC听谤别驳颈辞苍蝉.
Table 4: Resolved market access barriers (including in part and in full) by聽HMTC听谤别驳颈辞苍蝉 as a percentage share of total in Quarter 4 (Jan to Mar) of the聽FYE听2023 and Quarter 1 (Apr to June) of the聽FYE听2024
| HMTC听谤别驳颈辞苍 | % of total resolved聽FYE听2023 Quarter 4 | % of total resolved聽FYE听2024 Quarter 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | 18.6% | 25.8% |
| Asia Pacific | 7.0% | 3.2% |
| China and Hong Kong | 2.3% | 3.2% |
| Eastern Europe and Central Asia | 9.3% | 9.7% |
| Europe | 25.6% | 19.4% |
| Latin America | 18.6% | 25.8% |
| Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan | 16.3% | 6.5% |
| North America | 0.0% | 3.2% |
| South Asia | 2.3% | 3.2% |
| Total | 100.0% | 100.0% |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
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3.3 Number of trading partners where market access barriers were resolved (in part and in full) in Quarter 1 (April to June) of the聽FYE听2024, as recorded on聽DMAS
The number of trading partners where barriers were resolved can provide some illustration on the breadth of market access activity being undertaken, although this provides no indication of the depth of the market access activity in the domain of the trading partner.
Figure 4 below shows a count of trading partners where a barrier was marked as resolved in Quarter 4 of the聽FYE听2023 and Quarter 1 of the聽FYE听2024. In Quarter 1 of the聽FYE听2024, 21 trading partners resolved 30 barriers on聽DMAS. This is 8 fewer than Quarter 4 of the聽FYE听2023 when 29 trading partners resolved 44 barriers on聽DMAS.
Figure 4: Number of trading partners where barriers were resolved in part and in full, in Quarter 4 (Jan to Mar) of the聽FYE听2023 and Quarter 1 (Apr to June) of the聽FYE听2024
| Number of trading partners | FYE 2023 Quarter 4聽 | FYE 2024 Quarter 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Number of trading partners where barrier was resolved in part | 12 | 10 |
| Number of trading partners where barrier was resolved in full | 22 | 14 |
| Total number of trading partners where barrier was resolved | 29 | 21 |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
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Note: a trading partner could be part of both resolved in full and resolved in part count, resulting in total not matching.