HMRC is responsible for enforcing the ban on imports of oil products refined in third countries from Russian-origin crude oil and investigating suspected offences.

HMRC uses a variety of proven methods to detect sanctions breaches, including: risk and intelligence-based checks on goods imported to the UK, auditing businesses involved in the trade of goods subject to sanctions; and collecting actionable intelligence from domestic and international law enforcement partners and the intelligence community.

Importers of diesel and jet fuel may be requested to present evidence of a good's supply chain. In some cases, HMRC officials may require the production of further information relating to the goods.

On 20 May 2026, the UK introduced a new sanctions package to further target Russian revenues and degrade its ability to wage its illegal war in Ukraine and for the first time processed oil products refined from Russian crude in third countries have been banned. The UK Government published an Impact Assessment alongside the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, available on legislation.gov.uk.

Alongside this, a general trade licence, including for jet fuel processed in third countries from Russian crude, was issued to support a managed and phased implementation of complex restrictions, and to provide targeted, temporary flexibility to safeguard UK energy supply and global market stability.

The Government will continue to review the licence every two weeks. This involves continually assessing its impact on energy supply, market conditions and other relevant considerations, against our objective to revoke the licence as soon as is practicable. As part of this process, we have since set an end date of 1 January 2027.

The Secretary of State will consider each application for a trade licence on a case-by-case basis, with key consideration given to whether the proposed activity is consistent with the purposes of the sanctions as specified in Regulation 4 of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. The Secretary of State must act within the statutory framework Parliament has approved, the licensing power is exercised in a targeted and proportionate way.

As I told the House and the Business and Trade Select Committee, we are actively considering a ban on trade with and from the illegal settlements, but we have not commissioned such research.

Goods originating from illegal Israeli settlements are not entitled to tariff preferences under the UK–Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement. To ensure goods were not produced in any non-eligible settlement, HMRC requires importers claiming preference to make a legal declaration stating the goods’ origin. Where HMRC is not satisfied that the requirements are met, preferential tariff is denied and proportionate compliance action is taken (warning letters first, followed by monetary civil penalties).

HMRC takes an intelligence-led approach to verify the origin of goods but does not provide specific details regarding checks, as it may serve to undermine enforcement and compliance activities.

The UK Government also encourages accurate labelling of goods to avoid misleading consumers and promote transparency.

Officials work closely with HMRC, who are responsible for administrating the steel trade measures, but neither I nor any other Minister in this department has had direct discussions with HMRC on this.

This Government engages closely with businesses across the steel supply chain and will actively monitor implementation of the steel trade measure to ensure it operates as intended and remains responsible to emerging evidence and stakeholder feedback. To date, the department has not been informed that any delays at UK ports are attributed to the introduction of this measure.

We will continue engaging regularly across the supply chain, while working closely with HMRC to ensure effective the implementation and enforcement of the measure.

The Government has committed to reviewing the measure after 12 months to ensure it remains effective and proportionate.

We have designed the measure to strike the right balance for UK industry, strengthening protection for domestic producers while allowing a necessary volume of imports into the UK.

We have set quota levels to reflect the specific needs of the UK steel sector, calibrated against the UK’s production capability, capacity and demand levels and reflecting market conditions.

We will continue to monitor the measure, including the quota utilisation rates, and review it after 12 months.

This steel trade measure has been carefully designed to take account of UK industry needs, and to ensure continued supply of necessary imports to meet these aims.

An Explanatory Memorandum accompanying the relevant legislation was published on 30 June, setting out the expected impacts of this measure on different types of businesses.

We have engaged with downstream industries and will continue to do so as the measure is implemented. We will continue to monitor the measure and review it after 12 months.

The Government held extensive consultations with both primary steel producers and downstream users to inform development of the trade measure. This included a Call for Evidence in July 2025. The Explanatory Memorandum to both the affirmative and negative Statutory Instruments sets out how the Government expects the measure to impact different types of businesses, including downstream industries. The department will continue engaging regularly with manufacturers and wider downstream businesses across the supply chain post-implementation. It is worth bearing in mind that 73% of steel imports by value are not covered by the measure.

I have had several discussions with colleagues on trade with and within the Israeli settlements in Palestine, which are illegal under international law. We strongly advise against conducting any economic and financial activities in settlements.

Goods produced in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under the UK’s trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Government of Israel. UK operators are advised on gov.uk that, to claim preferential tariffs, all movement certificates and invoice declarations made out in Israel must include the origin where production has taken place. Where there are doubts about the declared origin of goods, HMRC undertakes checks to verify it.

The UK Government has introduced guidelines outlining how products originating from the territories occupied by Israel since 1967 should be specifically labelled as such as not to mislead the consumer.

I have had several discussions with colleagues on trade with and within the Israeli settlements in Palestine, which are illegal under international law. We strongly advise against conducting any economic and financial activities in settlements.

Goods produced in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under the UK’s trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Government of Israel. UK operators are advised on gov.uk that, to claim preferential tariffs, all movement certificates and invoice declarations made out in Israel must include the origin where production has taken place. Where there are doubts about the declared origin of goods, HMRC undertakes checks to verify it.

The UK Government has introduced guidelines outlining how products originating from the territories occupied by Israel since 1967 should be specifically labelled as such as not to mislead the consumer.

When I visited NDT Equipment Ltd in my constituency, the director Dan Lenton showed me the ultrasonic test calibration blocks and reference pieces that it uses and supplies to manufacturers in a wide range of sectors in the UK and abroad. This steel is not manufactured in the UK; it is imported and is high grade. I know Ministers are being flexible and talking to hon. Members. Will the Minister please consider the grade of steel that the company uses, which I believe is EN3B, and exempt it from the tariffs?

UK sanctions have been effective in reducing revenue going to Russia. Since the ban on import of Russian oil and oil products came into effect in December 2022, imports of Russian oil or oil products have reduced to zero. HMRC country of origin trade data shows UK imports originating in Russia to the value of less than £1 million in early 2023, and no further imports to date. On 20 May 2026 the Government introduced a new prohibition on the import of refined oil products refined in third countries from Russian crude, further reducing Russian revenues from oil exports. It is too soon to assess the impact of that measure.

The Government has launched a call for input on suspending tariffs on a range of agri food, which is due to close on 24 June 2026.

Any suspensions, where implemented, will apply on a Most Favoured Nation basis. This means they can apply to all imports of the specified goods. Where relevant, other measures like trade remedies and sanctions will continue to apply.

We ensure that we do not enter treaty relations nor economic and trade dealings with Israel that include occupied Palestinian territory, and all our licensed exports to Israel are rigorously assessed against the Strategic Exports Licensing Criteria. We have also taken action to tackle settler violence and announced four packages of sanctions targeting organisations and individuals involved in financing, enabling and carrying out settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

We reiterate the call that Israel should end its occupation of Palestine as rapidly as possible. We respect international law and continue to ensure the UK complies with its obligations.

The UK government does not recognise illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine and we strongly advise UK businesses and citizens against conducting any economic activities in settlements. Under our existing free trade agreement with Israel, the UK excludes illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine from the scope of the agreement. Settlements are illegal under international law, damaging to peace efforts, and call into question Israel’s commitment to the two-state solution. Therefore products from the illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine cannot avail of preferential rates under the FTA, and are subject to MFN trade instead.

The new trade measure is being applied in response to significant threat of global steel overcapacity. The steel safeguard expired on 30 June under WTO rules. The UK cannot risk a gap in protection, which would see the loss of steelmaking in the UK and leave us dependent on overseas suppliers for our critical national infrastructure and defence sectors. In finalising the details of the measure, we listened to stakeholders across the supply chain. The Government will continue to engage with industry and actively monitor impacts, including through a review after 12 months. To ease potential short-term impacts, a transitional arrangement is available under which the new measure would not apply to goods agreed under contract before 14 March 2026 and imported between 1 July and 30 September 2026.

Details of the finalised steel trade measure quotas were published on GOV.UK on 25 June and I gave a statement on the new steel trade measure on the same day.

The steel trade measure quotas reflect the needs of the steel industry, taking account of production capacity and demand. We therefore expect quota utilisation to be significantly higher than under the existing safeguard.

The new trade measure, alongside our wider steel strategy, will reinforce the UK steel sector’s resilience and help us meet our ambition for domestic production to meet 40–50% of the UK’s steel demand. We will continue to monitor the measure and conduct a review after twelve months.

The UK Government published an Impact Assessment alongside the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2026. This Impact Assessment is publicly available on legislation.gov.uk.

The General Licence for sanctioned processed oil products was published alongside the legislation. This licence is designed as a temporary measure to support flexibility in UK supply as the measure is phased in. The Government does not publish impact assessments specifically for General Licences.

The General Trade Licence for certain sanctioned processed oil products was published alongside legislation to introduce a new ban on the import of refined oil processed in a third country from Russian crude on 19 May 2026. The Licence is a temporary measure introduced to manage potential impacts on UK supply while the measures were phased in.

On 12 June 2026, the Government set an end date of 1 January 2027 for the refined licence. The Government will continue to review the licence regularly with the objective of lifting it at the earliest possible date.