Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 12 June, whether they plan to issue official guidance to British companies not to engage in any form of business with companies owned by the Burmese military.
Answered by Baroness Fairhead
DIT continues to support trade with Burma as an important part of driving mutual prosperity. We believe responsible trade and investment has a role to play in Burma’s long-term transition from a military dictatorship with a closed economy to a democracy with an open economy.
UK businesses have their own internal processes for determining their investment and trading partners. DIT offers advice and support on working with local partners and encourages all British companies to undertake appropriate due diligence on any investment projects. DIT also ensures companies are aware of UK legislation including the UK Bribery Act (2010) and any relevant sanctions.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to ensure that British companies directly or indirectly involved in extraction or mining in Eritrea are compliant with (1) UN Security Council Resolution 2023, (2) the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, (3) the Modern Day Slavery Act 2015, and (4) anti-bribery legislation.
Answered by Baroness Fairhead
The Government expects and requires that all UK companies involved in the mining sector, including in Eritrea, comply with all relevant legislation and regulations both UK and local, as it applies to their operations.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office regularly meet with UK companies, and companies with UK investors, involved in extractives in Eritrea. Discussions include their duty to comply with the legislative and regulatory requirements of operating in Eritrea and the human rights of Eritrean nationals involved in their operations in Eritrea.
The UK Government will take appropriate action against companies and / or individuals who fail to comply with the relevant legislation.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to appoint a trade envoy to the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and what role such an envoy would play in ethically reliable extraction deals and socially responsible investment in the country’s infrastructure.
Answered by Baroness Fairhead
This Department has submitted recommendations to Number 10 for the position of Trade Envoy to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The UK is at an early stage of commercially focused engagement with DRC. An appointment of a Trade Envoy to the DRC would focus on building up commercial level relationships and build a strategy to encourage UK companies to engage. The Trade Envoy would support HMG programmes to increase investments while reducing engagement risks by addressing the constraints to economic development. The UK aims to work with the Government of DRC and other partners to create a conducive investment climate to drive long-term sustainable development.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any British companies are receiving export credit guarantees for undertaking work in Sudan; and if so, which, and in what work they are engaged.
Answered by Baroness Fairhead
Exports to Sudan are not eligible for UK Export Finance (UKEF) support. As such, no British companies are currently receiving export credit guarantees for work in Sudan.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of levels of trade in oil and coal between North Korea and other countries, in particular (1) China, and (2) Russia.
Answered by Baroness Fairhead
North Korea does not report trade statistics to international organisations, such as United Nations (UN) Comtrade. In addition, data reported by its trading partners are limited.
The latest estimates of levels of trade in oil and coal, between North Korea and other countries, including China and Russia, are given in the attached spreadsheet.
These are estimates reported by North Korea’s partner countries, sourced from UN Comtrade’s database: https://comtrade.un.org/data/.
‘Coal’ is defined as Harmonised System (HS) code 2701: Coal; briquettes, ovoids and similar solid fuels manufactured from coal.
‘Oil’ is defined as HS codes 2709 (Petroleum oils, crude) and HS 2710 (Petroleum oils, other than crude.)
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether promoting trade with Sudan is an official government policy, and, if so, when the policy of providing information to businesses only on request changed and what prompted this change.
Answered by Lord Price
As part of our phased increase in direct engagement with the government of Sudan, the UK will consider opportunities to promote trade with Sudan, as trade can help to open up closed off political and economic systems. In this light, we are working with the World Bank, through the Sudan Multi-Partner Fund, to remove some of the barriers to private sector development through greater financial inclusion.
We will continue to provide support to UK companies to understand the opportunities and challenges of operating in Sudan. However, we have been clear with the Government of Sudan that the current conflicts, human rights abuses, and business environment remain obstacles to a sizeable increase in interest from British companies, and continue to urge them to make progress on these issues.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the number of companies owned by UK nationals or headquartered in the UK which conduct business with the government of North Korea or any of its state-owned companies.
Answered by Lord Price
The Government does not have data on the number of companies owned by UK nationals or headquartered in the UK which conduct business with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Data on the value of trade between the UK and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is published by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). In 2015 the total bilateral trade in goods between the UK and the DPRK was $814,700.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the effect of the United States' North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016 (H.R. 757) on UK-owned businesses and UK nationals which conduct business with the government of North Korea or its state-owned companies.
Answered by Lord Price
The Government has made no such assessment.