Trading with Israel

Bilateral trade between the UK and Israel reached a record high of over $9bn

The business and economic relationship between the UK and Israel has grown strongly over recent years with bilateral trade reaching $9bn in 2017

Israel is an associate member of the EU
Israel joined the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) in 2010
Israel is a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO)
Israel has free-trade agreements with the EU, European Free Trade Association and the USA
The UK & Israel have a double taxation treaty

English is widely spoken and accepted as a business language
The Israeli business community is familiar with UK business practices
The Israeli legal system is based on the British common law system
There is a 2 hour time difference between the UK and Israel
Flights between the UK and Israel take around 5 hours
Multiple airlines serve Tel Aviv including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, easyJet, El Al, and Wizz Air from most London airports and Manchester

There are over 300 Israeli companies employing thousands of individuals operating in the UK representing sectors including high tech, pharmaceutical and finance.
We have seen Israeli tech companies grow rapidly in the UK
The UK is Israel’s number one destination for investment in Europe
Israel is the third largest investor in the UK from the Middle East region
Israeli investment positions in the UK exceeded £14bn in 2014 compared to £9bn in 2010
The London Stock Exchange is home to 28 Israeli companies with a combined market capitalisation of over $8bn

Globally, Israel is the UK’s 46th largest trading partner and the UK’s 42nd largest export partner*
Services and goods exports from the UK to Israel accounted for £1bn in services and £1.2bn in goods in 2017
The top ten UK exports to Israel include vehicles, pharmaceuticals, general machinery and chemicals & plastics
UK services exported to Israel grew by 118% between 2006 and 2015, rising from £433m to £942m
In 2017, HMRC* estimated 6,700 VAT registered UK businesses exported goods to and 3,300 imported goods from Israel

A UK-Israel trade and partnership agreement is in place and due to take effect if the UK leaves the EU with no deal.
The UK-Israel trade and partnership agreement is a comprehensive agreement which is the basis for economic and trade relations between the UK and Israel. It maintains the effects of the EU-Israel trade agreements in a bilateral context.
The UK-Israel agreement covers:
- trade in goods – including provisions on rules of origin, preferential tariffs and quotas
- limited areas of services, competition and intellectual property
- wider cooperation
- government procurement
- conformity assessment of industrial products
For more information, visit the Department for International Trade website