Reform UK says it will impose tariffs on countries that refuse to accept or return migrants if it enters government at the next election – part of Nigel Farage’s attempt to renew his party’s focus on immigration following a slump in the polls.

Farage, mirroring the favoured economic leaver of his long-time friend Donald Trump, will announce the policy in the coming week as part of sweeping hardline immigration proposals.

The policy proposals, an escalation of the party’s previous announcement, are aimed at forcing countries to agree to accept migrants deported from the UK.

Support for Reform has plummeted in recent weeks amid controversy over the party’s funding and a recovery in Labour’s approval ratings following Andy Burnham’s entrance into Downing Street. After 15 months leading Labour, the party has fallen to second in the majority of polling – facing its lowest approval rating since December 2024.

How would the tariffs work?

Under plans first announced in February, Reform intends to impose strict visa bans for people legally seeking to visit the UK from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia until the countries agree to take back illegal immigrants and foreign criminals deported from the UK.

Reform’s proposed list includes several of the countries with the largest numbers of asylum seekers in the UK in recent years.

Under the latest proposal, first reported by , Reform says it will additionally impose tariffs with the intention of amassing further economic pressure to the listed countries.

Reform figures, the paper reported, believe tariffs may be a more helpful mechanism for countries where visa bans would have less effect.

The specific tariff rate proposed by Reform is still to be announced.

Channel crossings so far this year have fallen 41 per cent, compared to 2025 and are around a fifth lower than in 2024 and 2023, according to Home Office figures. More than 211,000 have made the crossing since 2018, with around 9,700 returned to their original country since June.

Net migration has fallen sharply since its peak of 944,000 in the year ending March 2023, hitting 204,000 in the year to June 2025. According to a forecast by Oxford Economics, it is expected to drop below 100,000 this year, its lowest since 1997.

Farage said: “Illegal immigration is an out-of-control disaster that poses a massive threat to our national security. It’s only getting worse under Open Borders Burnham. Only Reform will deport every single illegal migrant on our shores and stop the boats.”

Would Reform’s face similar legal challenges to Trump’s tariffs?

Reform, much like Trump, could fave significant legal challenges if it seeks to impose the levy.

The World Trade Organisation – of which the UK is a member – stipulates that every signatory must be charged the same tariff with few exceptions. This is known as the most-favoured nation rule.

Exemptions are allowed for a war or “emergency in international relations”. Britain, for example, used this rule in 2022 to hike tariffs on Russia and Belarus following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Do tariffs work?

Tariffs – essentially taxes on imports – have long been the favoured economic tool of Trump since his return to the White House, but there is a debate over their effectiveness and who actually has to foot the bill for the additional levy.

Trump argues that the extra taxes boost manufacturing and create jobs for the country imposing them. Critics of the mechanism, particularly the US Government’s recent use of the levy, say they have put up prices for American consumers, adding additional disruption and damage to the global economy.

Airspace and transit ban

Farage is also expected to announce further restrictions on those granted refugee status in the previous five years. Anyone who entered the UK illegally or overstayed their visa but later claimed asylum would face having their status revoked, under Reform’s previous announcements.

Under further measures Reform says they will seek to ban airlines from UK airspace and citizens from transit for those countries which do not comply with requests.

Many countries with large numbers of asylum seekers in the UK are already subject to bans on their airlines. This includes Afghanistan, Sudan, Eritrea, Libya and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Reform’s extension of the policy would likely affect Pakistan. British-Pakistani families and others flying to the nation would be forced to switch to alternative airlines with stopovers. Pakistan International Airlines, the nation’s flag carrier, would be unable to fly directly to the UK.

Refugees whose country of origin is deemed safe, irrespective of their status when they arrived, would also have their status revoked and face deportation.