Britain’s Department for Business and Trade secretly assessed the consequences of suspending the country’s existing trade agreement with Israel amid the Starmer government’s escalating pressure on Jerusalem.
The British government considered suspending its preferential trade agreement with Israel in August 2025 in response to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and its policies in Judea and Samaria.
The move was examined by Britain’s Department for Business and Trade under the government of then-prime minister Keir Starmer. The department conducted a formal impact assessment of suspending the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement, but did not disclose the review to Parliament or the public at the time.
The agreement, signed in 2019 to preserve commercial ties after Brexit, allows most Israeli goods to enter Britain without tariffs or under preferential customs terms.