Department for International Trade sparks row with tweet about soy sauce tariffs after Great British Bake Off's 'Japan week'

A Government department found itself in hot water after a tweet about the Great British Bake Off blew up into a row over trade tariffs for soy sauce.

Twitter users accused the Department for International Trade of spreading “misinformation” with the post, which claimed that imports of the condiment had been made cheaper by the UK’s recent trade deal with Japan.

Following Tuesday’s episode of the Channel 4 show, which saw contestants take part in “Japan week”, the department tweeted: "The bakers used a lot of soya sauce in the first challenge on #GBBO, so it's a good thing it will be made cheaper thanks to our trade deal with Japan.”

In a later tweet DfIT said: "Under WTO terms, the tariff on soya sauce is 6%. Under our deal, they will be 0%."

There are already no tariffs on soy sauce imports from Japan, because the UK still benefits from the EU-Japan trade deal.

One social media wrote: "So it's not better than the deal the UK had but it's better than no deal?

"So what about all the other products the UK will import from other countries on WTO terms which covers the majority of our imports?"

Another said: “More b****** and deliberate misinformation. We already had a 0% tariff on both EU and Japanese soy sauce. Only 16% comes from Japan, unless we get an EU trade deal then most soy sauces will be going up in price.”

The leading brand of soy sauce sold in the UK, Kikkoman, is produced for the British market in the Netherlands, meaning prices could rise in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

As the row continued online, the department posted another update with further clarification.

"To clarify: thanks to the UK-Japan trade deal, soya sauce will be cheaper than it otherwise would be under WTO terms, on which we would be trading with Japan from 1 Jan if we had not secured the UK-Japan trade deal." it said.

The Great British Bake Off, which moved from the BBC to Channel 4 in 2016, also celebrated its 100th episode on Tuesday.

A tweet from the show’s official account said: “We’re not one to blow our own crumpet but… tonight is the 100th episode of The Great British Bake Off!

The latest episode saw Mark, a project manager from Liverpool, be booted from the show.

Mark failed to impress judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith across three challenges during Tuesday’s episode.

After being booted from the tent, Mark said: “There are happy tears as well. I’ve made it to week six of Bake Off.

“I’m going home having learnt so much. I’ve made an amazing bunch of friends.”

Meanwhile Lottie was named this week's star baker.

The Department for Trade has been contacted for comment.