London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 10, 2025

UK pays EU £2.3bn after losing trade dispute

UK pays EU £2.3bn after losing trade dispute

The UK has paid the EU £2.3bn in relation to a disagreement over the importation of Chinese textiles and footwear between 2011 and 2017 - when the UK was still part of the European Union.
The UK has paid £2.3bn to the EU after losing a long-running trade dispute, with the amount including £1bn in interest.

The government announced the figure in a Written Ministerial Statement before recess next week.

The payments relate to a disagreement over the importation of Chinese textiles and footwear between 2011 and 2017 - when the UK was still part of the European Union.

It was claimed the UK had failed to prevent the undervaluing of these goods, letting criminals evade customs duties by making false claims about the clothes and shoes.

In March last year, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) found against the UK "on most liability points", according to John Glen, the chief secretary to the Treasury.

It found that more than half of all textiles and footwear imported into the UK from China were below "the lowest acceptable prices".

The European Commission has been seeking £1.7bn in compensation from the UK to the EU budget.

In June last year, the government made an initial payment of €678,372,885.63 - which it says was the "minimum, indisputable amount the UK considered due at that time in light of the CJEU judgment".

Last month, the government forked out another €700,351,738.31 - the rest of the headline amount owed, minus the share the UK was due back having been a member state.

But Mr Glen went on to say that a final payment of more than a billion was made this week - of €1,227,884,519.53.

This was the interest due on the amounts already paid so in total, the bill was €2,606,609,143.47 - equivalent to more than £2.3bn.

Mr Glen said: "These are substantial sums but represent the final payments and draw a line under this long-running case, with the UK fulfilling its international obligations."

The UK left the EU customs union in 2021.

Downing Street says payment 'right thing to do'

Asked if the bill was a good use of taxpayer money, a Downing Street spokesperson said: "It is a legacy issue from our time as part of the EU.

"The payment brings a long-running case to an end and protects UK taxpayers from the risk of further legal proceedings and a potentially bigger bill - so it was the right thing to do.

"Now we are out of the EU and can make our own laws."

Mr Glenn said that taking into account the financial settlement, "the government has determined how an additional £14.6bn of spending by 2024-25 can be allocated to its domestic priorities, rather than be sent in contributions to the EU."

"This additional spending was already included in the overall spending plans that the government set out at previous spending reviews."
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Street justice isn’t pretty but how else do you deal with this kind of insanity? Sometimes someone needs to standup and say something
Armenia and Azerbaijan sign U.S.-brokered accord at White House outlining transit link via southern Armenia
Barcelona Resolves Captaincy Issue with Marc-André ter Stegen
US Justice Department Seeks Release of Epstein and Maxwell Grand Jury Exhibits Amid Legal and Victim Challenges
Trump Urges Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to Resign Over Alleged Chinese Business Ties
Scotland’s First Minister Meets Trump Amid Visit Highlighting Whisky Tariffs, Gaza Crisis and Heritage Links
Trump Administration Increases Reward for Arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to Fifty Million Dollars
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
×