Following the launch of the Trade Strategy in June 2025, the UK Government has committed to deepen
its trade and development offer to developing countries (see P89-91). This document provides some
further details.

Improvements to the Rules of Origin of the DCTS
The changes outlined below are expected to come into effect in early 2026.

1) New regional cumulation groups for Africa and Asia to support intra-regional trade:

• We will establish a new Africa regional cumulation group comprising 50 countries. DCTS countries
  within this group will be able to cumulate with other DCTS countries. In addition, one-way
  cumulation will be permitted with Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) countries, as well as
  Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt (countries with which we have an Association Agreement).
  
• The existing South Asia and Southeast Asia cumulation groups will be merged and expanded to
  include six additional countries from the region.
  
• These enhancements will enable countries in the Enhanced Preference tier to source inputs from
  their respective regions, supporting intra-regional trade.
  
  2) Liberalised Rules of Origin for garment exports from Low and Lower-Middle Income Countries (the
  Enhanced Preference tier)
  
• We will liberalise product specific rules for garments from the 16 Enhanced Preference Low Income
  and Lower-Middle Income Countries in the Scheme. This will allow them to source between 47.5%
  and 100% of input from another country for further manufacture, and reduce the number of
  processing requirements (printing, bleaching, dyeing etc).
  
• There are two main beneficiaries to these changes – Enhanced Preference countries, and Least
  Developed Countries soon to graduate to this tier.
  
  Other improvements to the UK’s Trade for Development Offer
  
• Trade in Services: We will work to maximise two-way trade in services, consulting with
  governments and businesses on how to use our EPAs and other interventions to promote services
  trade, and making more information available on preferential services market access for LDCs. We
  have also announced the intention to scope a digital trade agreement with Kenya.
  
• Support for Developing Countries Exports: We will partner with developing countries to increase
  exports from into the UK, boosting their economic growth and helping British businesses to meet
  their imports needs.
  
• Trade Centre of Expertise (COE): The Prime Minister announced the launch of the Trade COE at the
  Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa, October 2024. Building on
  decades of experience through our Aid for Trade programmes, the Trade COE has been designed to
  increase trade from and between developing countries to boost export-led growth and reduce
  poverty. It will provide technical assistance to governments and businesses in developing countries
  to enable them to overcome the barriers to trade, to compete in global markets and to make the
  global trade rules work for developing countries. It also supports implementation of the DCTS and
  the EPAs.