Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether there are new opportunities for British companies in the energy sector in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
The Department for International Trade (DIT) team in Iraq continues to assess the ongoing opportunities in the energy sector in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and help British companies access applicable opportunities.
Companies in the Oil & Gas sectors are making particular progress in the KRI and we would recommend that any prospective market entrant should seek advice from the DIT team in the country about how to mitigate risks. Companies should also bear in mind that, as per the Prime Minister’s announcement of 12th December 2020, the Government is phasing out direct support to the fossil fuels sector as the UK transitions toward a low-carbon economy.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent assessment has she made of the level of potential opportunities for (a) export and (b) trade with Israel.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Israel remains a strategic priority for UK trade with total trade in goods and services between the UK and Israel totalling £4.2bn in 2019.
Total UK exports to Israel amounted to £2.4bn in 2019 and our Embassy team in Tel Aviv, supported by the Department for International Trade (DIT) team in London and across the UK, continues to support and engage with business on a daily basis both to assess and realise potential opportunities for UK business in line with the Export Strategy, the government’s plan to increase UK total exports as a proportion of GDP to 35% and make Britain a 21st century exporting superpower. The strategy, which focuses on all global markets, including Israel, will encourage and inspire more businesses to export; inform businesses by providing practical assistance on exporting; connect UK businesses to overseas buyers and opportunities; and help provide finance through UK Export Finance to enhance the HMG offer to UK exporters. Through this strategy we will also continue to promote the UK as a bilateral trading partner, reassuring Israeli businesses that the UK remains open for business and remains an advocate for free trade and open markets.
On trade more broadly, the Trade Continuity Agreement signed between the UK and Israel last February reflects the importance both countries attribute to the respective trading relationship and the potential opportunities that exist. I am delighted that the Hon. Member will be supporting the important and exciting work that builds on the agreement as our recently appointed Trade Envoy for Israel.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 11 October 2018 to Question 178257 on Trade Promotion, if he will publish the visits undertaken by each Trade Envoy in the last year.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The table below outlines all overseas visits undertaken by the PM’s Trade Envoys from October 2017 – September 2018. In total they have undertaken 61 overseas visits to 41 markets in the last year.
Trade Envoy | Market visited | Date Markets visited: |
Adam Afriyie MP | Ghana Ghana, Guinea Ghana, Guinea | 8-11 November 2017 8-13 April 16-21 September 2018 |
Andrew Murrison MP | Morocco Tunisia | 7-10 February 2018 No visit |
Andrew Percy MP | Canada | 4-9 November 2017 8-12 February 2108 27-11 June 2018 |
Andrew Selous MP | South Africa | 6-9 February 2018 27-30 August 2018 |
Baroness Bonham-Carter | Mexico | 10-16 February 2018 23-30 September 2018 |
Baroness Morris | Kuwait | 5-8 December 2017 |
Baroness Nicholson | Azerbaijan, Kuwait(for Iraq conference) Turkmenistan | 12-16 February 2018 28 May-1 June 2018 |
Baroness Northover | Angola Zambia | 7-10 November 2017 19-21 September 2018 26-28 September 2018 8-16 February 2018 |
Ed Vaizey MP | Vietnam Cambodia, Laos Vietnam/Cambodia/Laos | 5-11 November 2017 8-12 February 2018 29 September - 3 October 2018 |
Jeremy Lefroy MP | Ethiopia | 8-11 November 2017 11-16 February 2018 28-31 May 2018 3-5 September 2018 |
John Howell MP | Nigeria | 6-9 November 2017 |
Julian Knight MP | Mongolia | 5-10 April 2018 19-24 September 2018 |
Lord Astor | Oman | 2-6 October 2017 11-14 February 2018 |
Lord Faulkner | Taiwan | 24-31 January 2018 17-22 September 2018 |
Lord Hollick | Tanzania | 1-4 October 2017 |
Lord Janvrin | Turkey | 2-5 October 2017 12-14 February 2018 |
Lord King | Saudi Arabia | 23-25 September 2017 |
Lord Lamont | Iran | 23-28 September 2018 |
Lord Popat | Uganda Rwanda | 16-24 November 2017 13-16 February 2018 |
Lord Risby | Algeria | 6-9 November 2017 29-1 May 2018 |
Mark Menzies MP | Columbia, Chile Columbia, Chile Peru | 4-10 November 2017 31 March-11 April 2018 23-28 September 2018 |
Mark Pritchard MP | Georgia, Armenia | 6-9 October 2017 1-10 November 2017 7-21 February 2018 6-11 June 2018 |
Paul Scully MP | Thailand | 5-11 November 2017 |
Ranil Jayawardena MP | Sri Lanka | 14-17 February 2018 17-21 September 2018 |
Rehman Chishti MP | Pakistan | 8-11 November 2017 11-15 February 2018 14-18 September 2018 |
Richard Graham MP | Malaysia Indonesia | 3-5 November 2017 31 July – 3 August 2018 11-13 April 2018 |
Rushanara Ali MP | Bangladesh | 20-31 July 2018 |
Simon Hart MP | Panama, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic | 10-13 April 2018 |
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson | Egypt | 28 July – 1 August 2018 22-27 September 2018 |
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what process is in place to assess the (a) performance and (b) value for money of the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys are asked to report back to my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade after each visit they undertake in the role. The Department for International Trade teams based in the Trade Envoy markets, also collate any business successes the Trade Envoys have been involved with, which is reported back on a quarterly basis.
As appointees of the Prime Minister, Trade Envoys have been instrumental in helping the UK secure business in their markets, as well as lobbying to remove specific barriers affecting trade.