Market access barrier quarterly statistics: January to March 2026
Published 11 June 2026
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/market-access-barrier-quarterly-statistics-january-to-march-2026/market-access-barrier-quarterly-statistics-january-to-march-2026
1. Purpose
This release covers statistics on the market access barriers (MAB) resolved by His Majesty’s Government officials[footnote 1] in Quarter 4 (January to March) of the financial year ending (FYE) 2026. These barriers are recorded on the Department for Business and Trade’s (DBT) internal database called Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
This quarterly publication includes:
- headline statistics on the number of MABs resolved
- a breakdown of these statistics by His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) regions
- total number of trading partners where barriers were resolved
- a comparison of these statistics with Quarter 3 (October to December) of the FYE 2026
This release also covers the revised data for all quarters since Quarter 1 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 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.
They do 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 the resolved barriers for a reporting period.
2. Resolved market access barriers headline statistics
2.1 Resolved market access barriers in Quarter 4 of the FYE 2026, as recorded on DMAS
31 resolved in full
0 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 show that in Quarter 4 of the FYE 2026, a total of 31 market access barriers were marked as either fully resolved or resolved in part – this is one fewer barrier than in Quarter 3 of the FYE 2026.
Of these:
- 31 barriers were resolved in full – this is 4 more barriers than in Quarter 3 of the FYE 2026
- No barriers were resolved in part – this is 5 fewer barriers than in Quarter 3 of the FYE 2026
Note: for some barriers it is possible for the DMAS status to change from ‘resolved in part’ to ‘resolved in full’, or vice versa, from quarter to quarter.
Only unique barriers are accounted for in this release, without double counting.
Figure 1: number of resolved market access barriers, in part or in full in Quarter 1 (April to June), Quarter 2 (July to September), Quarter 3 (October to December) and Quarter 4 (January to March)
| Barrier status | Resolved: In part | Resolved: In full | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| FYE 2026 Quarter 1 | 9 | 44 | 53 |
| FYE 2026 Quarter 2 | 7 | 31 | 38 |
| FYE 2026 Quarter 3 | 5 | 27 | 32 |
| FYE 2026 Quarter 4 | 0 | 31 | 31 |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
Download more detailed data on number of resolved market access barriers, in part or in full, for all quarters since Quarter 1 of the FYE 2024, in OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ods) format.
Note: statistics on resolved barriers will be affected by factors such as:
- scope of resolution (whether it is resolved in full or resolved in part)
- 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 4 of the FYE 2026, as recorded on DMAS
9 Asia Pacific had the highest number of barriers resolved
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 shows that in Quarter 4 of the FYE 2026, Asia Pacific had the highest number of barriers resolved (9), whereas in Quarter 3 of the FYE 2026 Africa, Europe, Latin America and Caribbean had the highest number of barriers resolved (7) across HMTC regions.
Table 1: number of resolved market access barriers, in part or in full, by HMTC regions in Quarter 3 (October to December) and Quarter 4 (January to March) of the FYE 2026
| HMTC region | Resolved in part FYE 2026 Quarter 3 | Resolved in full FYE 2026 Quarter 3 | Total resolved FYE 2026 Quarter 3 | Resolved in part FYE 2026 Quarter 4 | Resolved in full FYE 2026 Quarter 4 | Total resolved FYE 2026 Quarter 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Asia Pacific | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| China and Hong Kong | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
| Eastern Europe and Central Asia | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Europe | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Latin America and Caribbean | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| North America | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| South Asia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 5 | 27 | 32 | 0 | 31 | 31 |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
Download more detailed data on number of resolved market access barriers, in part or in full, for all quarters since Quarter 1 of the FYE 2024, in OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ods) format.
Table 2 shows that in Quarter 4 of the FYE 2026, Asia Pacific had the highest percentage share of barriers resolved in part or in full (29%). This is a change from Quarter 3 of the FYE 2026 where Europe, Latin America and Caribbean and Africa had the highest share of barriers resolved (22%).
Table 2: resolved market access barriers, in part or in full, by HMTC regions as a percentage share of the total in Quarter 3 (October to December) and Quarter 4 (January to March) of the FYE 2026
| HMTC region | Quarter 3 FYE 2026 | Quarter 4 FYE 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | 22% | 3% |
| Asia Pacific | 19% | 29% |
| China and Hong Kong | 6% | 26% |
| Eastern Europe and Central Asia | 6% | 0% |
| Europe | 22% | 23% |
| Latin America and Caribbean | 22% | 6% |
| Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan | 3% | 6% |
| North America | 0% | 0% |
| South Asia | 0% | 6% |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
Download more detailed data on number of resolved market access barriers, in part or in full, for all quarters since Quarter 1 of the FYE 2024, in OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ods) format.
2.3 Number of trading partners where market access barriers were resolved (in part or in full) in Quarter 4 of the FYE 2026, 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 shows a count of trading partners where a barrier was marked as resolved on DMAS. The figure, in conjunction with Figure 1, shows that HMG resolved 31 barriers across 16 trading partners in Quarter 4 of the FYE 2026; whereas in Quarter 3 of the FYE 2026, HMG resolved 32 barriers across 21 trading partners.
Figure 2: number of trading partners where barriers were resolved in part or in full in Quarter 1 (April to June), Quarter 2 (July to September), Quarter 3 (October to December) and Quarter 4 (January to March)
| Number of trading partners | FYE 2026 Quarter 1 | FYE 2026 Quarter 2 | FYE 2026 Quarter 3 | FYE 2026 Quarter 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of trading partners where barrier was resolved in part | 7 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| Number of trading partners where barrier was resolved in full | 31 | 23 | 20 | 16 |
| Total number of trading partners where barriers were resolved in part or in full | 34 | 27 | 21 | 16 |
Source: DBT internal Digital Market Access Service (DMAS).
Download more detailed data on number of resolved market access barriers, in part or in full, for all quarters since Quarter 1 of the FYE 2024, in OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ods) format.
Note:
- an individual trading partner may be part of both the resolved in full and resolved in part figures, resulting in total resolved not matching the sum of the 2
- Figure 2 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 ↩