Market access barrier quarterly statistics April to June 2024
Published 12 September 2024
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/market-access-barrier-quarterly-statistics-april-to-june-2024/market-access-barrier-quarterly-statistics-april-to-june-2024
1. Purpose
This release covers statistics on the market access barriers (MAB) resolved by His Majesty’s Government officials[footnote 1] in Quarter 1 (April to June) of the financial year ending (FYE) 2025. These barriers are recorded on the Department for Business and Trade’s internal database called Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
This quarterly publication includes:
- headline statistics on the number of MABs resolved
- a breakdown of the above statistics by HMTC regions
- total numbers of trading partners where barriers were resolved
- a comparison of the above statistics with Quarter 4 (January to March) of the FYE 2024
This release also covers revised data for Quarter 2, Quarter 3 and Quarter 4 of the FYE 2024. These statistics were designated as Official Statistics to improve the accuracy and consistency of the data. This is because these are DBT’s Outcome Delivery Plan metrics and are regularly published in the DBT Annual Report and Accounts (currently for Department for International Trade) as indicators on departmental performance.
Publication of market access barrier statistics provides a signal to both consumers and business abroad that there is greater commitment from the government to resolve market access barriers and unlock trade opportunities abroad. The annual publication provides the number of market access barriers reported in any financial year. This does not provide an indication of the value represented by barriers that have been resolved, or that are currently the subject of DBT’s market access activity. The aggregated valuation for a sample of resolved barriers is routinely included in the DBT Annual Report and Accounts
DBT also releases information on trade barriers through the Check International Trade Barriers service (CITS). This provides information on a selection of barriers reported and barriers resolved by sector and location. The purpose is to raise awareness among UK businesses on a selection of the barriers DBT has worked to resolve or is working to resolve. CITS publishes details for a selection of barriers only. This is because certain barriers can be deemed unsuitable for publication for a variety of reasons including potential commercial or trade negotiation sensitivities. However, this quarterly statistical release provides headline figures on all resolved barriers for a reporting period.
2. Resolved market access barriers headline statistics
2.1 Resolved market access barriers in Quarter 1 (April to June) of the FYE 2025, as recorded on DMAS
29 resolved in full
4 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, DBT staff update the DMAS entry with the status as ‘resolved’. Barriers on DMAS can be marked as ‘resolved in full’ when the issue has been fully addressed or ‘resolved in part’ when only a part of the issue related to a barrier are resolved.
The statistics on resolved barriers in Figure 1 below show that in Quarter 1 of the FYE 2025:
A total of 33 market access barriers were marked as either fully resolved or resolved in part - this is 22 fewer barriers than Quarter 4 of the FYE 2024, of which:
- 29 barriers were resolved in full – this is 16 fewer barriers than Quarter 4 of the FYE 2024
- 4 barriers were resolved in part – this is 6 fewer barriers than Quarter 4 of the FYE 2024
Note: for some barriers, between any 2 quarters, the DMAS status could change from ‘resolved in part’ to ‘resolved in full’ or vice versa.
Only unique barriers are accounted for in this release, without any risk of double counting.
Figure 1: Number of resolved market access barriers, in part or in full, in Quarter 2 (July to Sep), Quarter 3 (Oct to Dec) and Quarter 4 (Jan to Mar) of the FYE 2024, and in Quarter 1 (Apr to June) of the FYE 2025
| Barrier status | Resolved in part | Resolved in full | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| FYE 2024 Quarter 2 | 1 | 37 | 38 |
| FYE 2024 Quarter 3 | 3 | 35 | 38 |
| FYE 2024 Quarter 4 | 10 | 45 | 55 |
| FYE 2025 Quarter 1 | 4 | 29 | 33 |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
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 DMAS status being updated to reflect this)
2.2 Resolved market access barriers by HMTC regions in Quarter 1 (April to June) of the FYE 2025, as recorded on DMAS
9 highest number resolved in Asia Pacific
1 lowest number resolved in North America
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 1 below shows that in Quarter 1 of the FYE 2025, Asia Pacific had the highest number of barriers resolved (9); whereas in Quarter 4 of the FYE 2024 Europe had the highest number of barriers resolved (15), across HMTC regions.
Table 1: Number of resolved market access barriers, in part or in full, by HMTC regions in Quarter 4 (Jan to Mar) of the FYE 2024 and Quarter 1 (Apr to Jun) of the FYE 2025
| HMTC region | Resolved in part FYE 2024 Quarter 4 | Resolved in full FYE 2024 Quarter 4 | Total for FYE 2024 Quarter 4 | Resolved in part FYE 2025 Quarter 1 | Resolved in full FYE 2025 Quarter 1 | Total for FYE 2025 Quarter 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Asia Pacific | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| China and Hong Kong | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eastern Europe and Central Asia | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Europe | 2 | 13 | 15 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Latin America | 2 | 12 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| North America | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| South Asia | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Total | 10 | 45 | 55 | 4 | 29 | 33 |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
Table 2 below shows that in Quarter 1 of the FYE 2025, Asia Pacific had the highest proportion of barriers resolved (27.3%); whereas in Quarter 4 of the FYE 2024, Europe had the highest proportion of barriers resolved (27.3%) across HMTC regions.
Table 2: Resolved market access barriers (including in part or in full) by HMTC regions as a percentage share of total in Quarter 4 (Jan to Mar) of the FYE 2024 and in Quarter 1 (Apr to Jun) of the FYE 2025
| HMTC region | % of total FYE 2024 Quarter 4 | % of total FYE 2025 Quarter 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | 10.9% | 9.1% |
| Asia Pacific | 12.7% | 27.3% |
| China and Hong Kong | 3.6% | 0.0% |
| Eastern Europe and Central Asia | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| Europe | 27.3% | 18.2% |
| Latin America | 25.5% | 12.1% |
| Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan | 5.5% | 12.1% |
| North America | 1.8% | 3.0% |
| South Asia | 3.6% | 9.1% |
| Total | 100.0% | 100.0% |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
2.3 Number of trading partners where market access barriers were resolved (in part or in full) in Quarter 1 (April to June) of the FYE 2025, as recorded on 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 2 below shows a count of trading partners where a barrier was marked as resolved on DMAS. The figure shows that HMG resolved 33 barriers across 27 trading partners in Quarter 1 of the FYE 2025; whereas in Quarter 4 of the FYE 2024, HMG resolved 55 barriers across 33 trading partners.
Figure 2: Number of trading partners where barriers were resolved in part or in full, in Quarter 2 (July to Sep), Quarter 3 (Oct to Dec) and Quarter 4 (Jan to Mar) of the FYE 2024, and in Quarter 1 (Apr to June) of the FYE 2025
| Number of trading partners | FYE 2024 Quarter 2 | FYE 2024 Quarter 3 | FYE 2024 Quarter 4 | FYE 2025 Quarter 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of trading partners where barrier was resolved in part | 1 | 3 | 7 | 3 |
| Number of trading partners where barrier was resolved in full | 27 | 24 | 29 | 25 |
| Total number of trading partners where barrier was resolved | 27 | 25 | 33 | 27 |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
Note: a trading partner could be part of both resolved in full and resolved in part, resulting in total not matching.
The above figure does not include barriers reported by trading blocs.
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His Majesty’s Government officials refer to officials belonging to Department for Business and Trade including HMTC officials, Other Government Departments and Devolved Administration ↩