Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the underlying cause of the fall in UK goods exports in 2023, as reported by the Office for National Statistics on 15 February, and what action they are taking to reverse the decline in UK goods exports.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The main causes of the £33 billion decrease (current prices) in goods exports were fuels (predominantly oil) down £24 billion, non-monetary gold and other precious metals down £15 billion, and non-ferrous metals (mainly silver and metals in the platinum group) down £7 billion.
Trade in these commodities is known to be very erratic and export values can fluctuate substantially year on year.
The Department for Business and Trade are committed to growing exports and will continue to provide businesses with a wealth of export support options on great.gov.uk, including trade advisers, Export Champions, the Export Academy, our International Markets network and UK Export Finance
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their current target for expenditure with small and medium-sized enterprises, directly and indirectly through procurement; and whether they expect to meet it.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Department will be updating our SME Action Plan later this year and it will set an ambition for future spending aligned with our procurement strategy.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to report on the outcomes of the review of economic regulation.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
We are expecting to publish the review of economic regulation in the coming months, delivering on the Government’s commitment to drive growth through the activities of key economic regulators (Ofgem, Ofcom and Ofwat), as published in the Smarter Regulation to Grow the Economy policy paper on 10 May 2023.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in negotiating a free trade agreement with India; and when they expect an agreement to be reached.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We have been in negotiations since January 2022, and talks are ongoing. Both nations have come to the table with the very highest of ambitions and a willingness to work together towards a mutually beneficial deal. We are now working through substantive issues like goods market access, services, and investment, and are starting to see a way forward that works for both sides.
However, we remain clear – the Secretary of State will only sign when we have a deal that is fair, reciprocal, and ultimately in the best interests of the British people and the economy.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in negotiating a free trade agreement with the United States of America; and when they expect an agreement to be reached.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In 2020, the UK and US held five productive rounds of negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
We remain ready to progress these discussions, but recognise that the US is not currently focused on FTAs with any country. In the meantime, we have done much to help grow our £279bn* of annual bilateral trade. In the last year, we’ve removed US tariffs on UK steel and aluminium and ended the US ban on UK lamb and beef exports. We’ve also been working closely on shared priorities identified at the recent UK-US Trade Dialogues – including digital trade and support for small and medium-sized enterprises.
* Total UK-US trade (goods and services / exports plus imports) in 2022
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in negotiations for the UK’s membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP); and when they expect to accede to membership.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK is continuing to negotiate accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership. Recent discussions have seen the department make considerable progress towards concluding talks, aiming to finish them at the earliest opportunity. The Government is working to ensure that the UK joins on terms that work for British business and are in line with domestic priorities.
Joining CPTPP will offer significant benefits to exporters. It could give tariff free access to up to 99% of UK goods, to export to a market of 500 million people, while reducing barriers to our world leading service firms.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in negotiating a free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council; and when they expect to reach an agreement.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We have an ambitious programme of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations to help our nation become a truly Global Britain. We have completed two rounds of negotiations with Mexico, and three rounds of negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council. The fifth round of negotiations with Canada concluded on 24 March.
We look forward to concluding negotiations at the earliest opportunity, but it is the substance of trade deals that is important, not the timing.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in negotiating a new trade agreement with Canada; and when they expect an agreement to be reached.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We have an ambitious programme of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations to help our nation become a truly Global Britain. We have completed two rounds of negotiations with Mexico, and three rounds of negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council. The fifth round of negotiations with Canada concluded on 24 March.
We look forward to concluding negotiations at the earliest opportunity, but it is the substance of trade deals that is important, not the timing.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in negotiating a new trade agreement with Mexico; and when they expect an agreement to be reached.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We have an ambitious programme of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations to help our nation become a truly Global Britain. We have completed two rounds of negotiations with Mexico, and three rounds of negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council. The fifth round of negotiations with Canada concluded on 24 March.
We look forward to concluding negotiations at the earliest opportunity, but it is the substance of trade deals that is important, not the timing.