In the global debate about tariffs, one thing is clear: trade can be critical to making economies grow and societies more resilient. As part of its commitment to international development, the United Kingdom introduced the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) in 2023 to make it easier and cheaper for developing countries to export to the UK. The objective is to stimulate trade from beneficiary countries, promote growth, support economic transformation and help reduce poverty. Now, after two years, the UK government has commissioned independent research to determine if the new trading scheme is indeed encouraging more trade and how it can benefit people in developing countries. Positive early findings The research by the UK’s new Trade and Development, Evidence and Innovation Programme (E&I) has found early, positive signs that the DCTS is succeeding in encouraging developing countries to make greater use of trade preferences. Through the DCTS, which is offered unilaterally by the UK, 65 developing countries can benefit from lower tariffs than countries that are outside the scheme and cannot use other UK trade agreements. So the DCTS can make the goods imported from member countries more competitive. But lower tariffs (or trade preferences) are subject to conditions, which [...]