The Trade Act 2021 (Power to Implement International Trade Agreements) (Extension to Expiry) Regulations 2025

Made: 13th November 2025

Coming into force: 30th December 2025

The Secretary of State makes the following Regulations in exercise of the power conferred by section 2(10)(b) of the Trade Act 2021[^f00001].

In accordance with paragraph 6 of Schedule 2 to that Act, a draft of this instrument has been laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

Citation, commencement and extent

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Trade Act 2021 (Power to Implement International Trade Agreements) (Extension to Expiry) Regulations 2025.

• (2) These Regulations come into force on 30th December 2025.

• (3) These Regulations extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Extension of the expiry of regulation-making power

2

The Secretary of State specifies that—

• (a) the period in which regulations may be made to implement an international trade agreement under section 2(1) of the Trade Act 2021 is extended for a period of five years; and

• (b) no regulations may be made under section 2(1) of the Trade Act 2021 after the end of the period of 10 years beginning with IP completion day.

Signed

Chris Bryant — Minister of State — Department for Business and Trade — 13th November 2025

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Explanatory Note

Section 2(1) of the Trade Act 2021 (“the Act”) provides a power for an appropriate authority to make regulations for the purpose of implementing an international trade agreement (as defined in section 2(2) of the Act) to which the United Kingdom is a signatory and the European Union and other parties were signatories before the United Kingdom left the European Union.

Section 2(10) of the Act provides that this power cannot be used after the end of the period of five years beginning with IP completion day (11pm on 31st December 2020) or such other period or periods as are specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State.

Regulation 2 extends by five years the period specified for the power to make regulations under section 2(1) of the Act with the effect that no regulations may be made under section 2(1) after the end of 10 years beginning with IP completion day. This will allow an appropriate authority to implement relevant international trade agreements for a further five years.

“Appropriate authority” is defined in section 5 of the Act as a Minister of the Crown or a devolved authority (the Scottish Ministers, the Welsh Ministers, or a Northern Ireland Department).

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen. Physical copies of this instrument are available from the Department of Business and Trade, Old Admiralty Building, London, SW1A 2EG. This instrument is available online at www.legislation.gov.uk.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 2021 c. 10.