Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Steve McCabe and Ranil Jayawardena

Thursday 10th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak) (Lab)]

If she will include provisions to support domestic battery development in future trade deals.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Trade (Mr Ranil Jayawardena)]

We recognise the importance of domestic battery development and manufacturing, which is why we have engaged with business to understand its needs and ensure that our free trade agreements deliver. That includes negotiating rules of origin that consider the transition to electric vehicles and enable British manufacturers such as Jaguar Land Rover and Nissan to access global markets.

[Steve McCabe [V]]

Happy birthday, Mr Speaker.

As the Minister acknowledges, the future of our car industry in the west midlands is dependent on battery production and the Government giving the go-ahead for a gigafactory, but battery production requires ready access to materials such as cobalt, lithium and manganese. Will he tell us which countries he is talking to about trade deals that would secure these supplies?

[Mr Jayawardena]

We are talking to friends around the world to make sure that our supply chains are more resilient than ever before. That is a clear lesson from our coronavirus situation, where we have seen that we should not be too reliant on any one country. We have prioritised securing investment in battery cell gigafactories, to which the hon. Member refers. I am delighted that he is supporting our agenda, which we believe is key to anchoring the mass manufacture of electric vehicles in Britain, safeguarding jobs and driving emissions to net zero by 2050.