Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to introducing an import ban on (1) all products produced by forced labour, and (2) on products produced by all Chinese companies listed as exploiting forced labour.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The United Kingdom is at the forefront of global efforts to eradicate modern-day slavery, including forced labour. The UK’s approach to tackling forced labour in global supply chains is focused on transparency and companies with a turnover of £36m or more are required to publish modern slavery statements. The Government has concerns about allegations of forced labour in China and works with international partners to hold China to account for any violation of human rights. Import bans are one of a range of tools that could be used to tackle forced labour in global supply chains and we continue to keep this policy response under close review.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact that the reintroduction of sanctions on Iran by the United States has had on UK-registered companies trading with Iran.
Answered by Baroness Fairhead
The US Treasury has re-imposed sanctions against Iran relating to financial institutions, and Iran’s energy, insurance and shipping sectors. There has been an impact on UK businesses, although it is too early to make a comprehensive assessment. Where necessary, UK companies should seek legal advice.
The Department for International Trade has a dedicated team working at the British Embassy in Tehran to support UK businesses active in the Iranian market. We continue to monitor any impact on UK-Iran trade caused by the re-imposition of US sanctions on Iran.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the value of UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia in (1) 2015, (2) 2016, and (3) 2017.
Answered by Baroness Fairhead
Government data on the value of exports does not differentiate sufficiently between military and non-military exports.
However, the Government publishes Official Statistics (on a quarterly and annual basis) of licences granted for military exports on GOV.UK. This data includes the value of exports licensed where this is known. Licensing data for 2015, 2016 and 2017 indicates the following values for military exports to Saudi Arabia:
2015: £2,856,814,952
2016: £680,288,434
2017: £1,120,427,691 (January-June)
The value of exports licensed each quarter is not necessarily a measure of actual exports shipped in a given period because licences are valid for between two and five years, and because exporters only declare values for a subsection of export licences (Standard Individual Export Licences). Additionally, some licences expire before they are fully used and in these circumstances exporters must apply for a new (duplicate) licence, which can result in a significant element of double counting in some reporting periods. Over the period 2015, 2016 and 2017 (January-June) at least £2.4 billion of the total value of military
exports licensed (£4.6 billion) is attributable to double counting because of duplicate licences.