Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the designate appointees to senior officer roles at the Trade Remedies Authority have met with external stakeholders; and whether his Department's policy is to publish details of such meetings.
Answered by George Hollingbery
The designate appointees are DIT employees and are included in DIT transparency returns.
The Department complies with standard Cabinet Office transparency rules, as is usual. The designate appointees started their roles this calendar year and therefore the returns have not yet been published, but when they are, the relevant transparency data can be found on GOV.UK - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-international-trade&publication_type=transparency-data.
When the Trade Remedies Authority becomes a separate legal entity to DIT, subject to the will of Parliament, it will have its own transparency systems and rules.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what proportion of UK Export Finance support was allocated to the fossil fuels sector in each year since 2010.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The share of support UK Export Finance (UKEF) provided for exports relating to fossil fuels can be found in the table.
FY | Share of Maximum Liability which went to fossil fuel projects, % |
2010/11 | 12% |
2011/12 | 1% |
2012/13 | 5% |
2013/14 | 17% |
2014/15 | 17% |
2015/16 | 33% |
2016/17 | 30% |
2017/18 | 7% |
UKEF publishes details of the support it provides in its Annual Report and Accounts.
UKEF’s mission is to ensure that no viable UK export fails for lack of finance or insurance from the private sector. UKEF supports exports in all sectors, including renewables. Its aim is only to provide support where there is a lack of private finance and its provision of support is demand-led and often counter-cyclical. The UK’s oil and gas sector is a significant contributor to the economy, but has seen low investment in recent years due to volatility in oil prices and the lack of financing needed to develop projects. UKEF has provided support for projects in developing markets, helping to improve energy affordability and accessibility.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many agreements the Government needs to replicate to ensure continuity of trade between the UK and those third countries with which the EU has signed such agreements.
Answered by George Hollingbery
The Government is seeking continuity of our existing EU trade agreements as we leave the EU and recently updated the House on progress on our progress to achieve continuity of our existing free trade agreements.
I refer the honourable member to the Government’s written statement published on 21st February 2019. We will continue to inform the House as soon as further agreements are signed.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that those developing countries which access UK markets under the terms of a trade agreement with the EU do not face a disruption to trade in the event that he is unable to conclude a trade agreement with them which replicates the terms of that EU agreement by 29 March 2019.
Answered by George Hollingbery
A deal with the EU would provide a clear mechanism to achieve continuity of our existing free trade agreements with developing countries from exit day and throughout an implementation period.
We are working with partners to conclude and implement agreements from 29 March 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter in the event of a “no deal” exit.
The Taxation (Cross-Border Trade) Act enables the UK to put in place a UK trade preferences scheme for developing countries. If the UK trade agreements are not agreed in time but the UK’s unilateral preferences scheme has been put in place, some developing countries would be eligible for preferential access under different tiers of that scheme.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions he has had with the UK-US Trade Working Group on access for UK steel producers to US Government procurement contracts in a future trade agreement.
Answered by George Hollingbery
The UK-US Trade and Investment Working Group has met on five occasions since it was launched in July 2017, most recently in November 2018. The working group’s aim is to provide commercial continuity across a wide range of sectors, including steel, for US and UK businesses, workers, and consumers as the UK leaves the EU and explore ways to strengthen trade and investment ties ahead of exit. The group is also laying the groundwork to ensure that both sides are well prepared to open trade negotiations on an free trade agreement after the UK leaves the EU in 2019.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the capacity of the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) to carry out independent investigations into trade disputes; and whether evidence supplied by British producers to ongoing trade dispute investigations conducted by the EU will be accepted in TRA investigations.
Answered by George Hollingbery
The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) will be responsible for operating the UK’s domestic trade remedies system, subject to the will of Parliament. For investigations that are still underway by the EU when the UK begins to operate its own trade remedies system, UK industry will be able to apply to the TRA to initiate a new investigation and submit evidence, which may include evidence it provided to the Commission. It will be for the TRA to decide on the relevance of that information and how it takes such evidence into account. With over 80% of staff appointed, the TRA is resourced to undertake this work.
The TRA is responsible for trade remedies cases. It is not and will not be responsible for trade disputes. This will be a matter managed by DIT.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what progress his Department has made in replicating the terms of the EU trade agreements with (a) Ghana and (b) Ivory Coast in new agreements with the UK.
Answered by George Hollingbery
I refer to the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 12 February 2019, UIN: 216437.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what are the least-developed countries to which the UK plans to grant duty-free and quota-free access; and what are the further 25 countries that will be granted generous tariff reductions.
Answered by George Hollingbery
The UK’s independent trade preference scheme will, as a minimum, provide the same level of access as the current EU trade preference scheme. The countries that will receive duty free quota free access are those listed in Part 2 of Schedule 3 of the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act, and the other eligible developing countries that will be granted preferences are those listed in Part 3 of that Schedule.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, which states with which the EU currently has a trade agreement has approved proposals for the UK to remain a party to those agreements during the implementation period.
Answered by George Hollingbery
Alongside the Withdrawal Agreement, the EU undertook to notify its treaty partners that the UK is treated as a Member State for the purposes of EU international agreements during the IP. This includes trade agreements. This notification is expected to issue following signature of the Withdrawal Agreement.
Discussions with all partner countries have demonstrated a commitment to finding a pragmatic way to ensure continuity of our existing international agreements. A number of countries have already publicly welcomed this approach (Library deposit of 13 September DEP2018-0926 provides a list of countries). Others are, understandably, waiting for the notification to be issued before responding formally. We are working closely with our trading partners to ensure that there would be no disruption to trade as we move into the Implementation Period. Alongside this, the government will continue to do the responsible thing and prepare for all eventualities with partner countries, including a ‘no deal’ Brexit scenario.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to his Department's guidance entitled Call for expressions of interest in membership of the Strategic Trade Advisory Group, published on 16 July 2018, who will determine that members are no longer able to contribute effectively to the groups' deliberations prior to a member of the Strategic Trade Advisory Group having their membership revoked; and whether information on that decision will be made publicly available.
Answered by George Hollingbery
The process for appointing members to the STAG is almost complete and we expect to issue letters to successful candidates shortly.
The Group will advise the Secretary of State for International Trade but will not set Government policy. This will not be a decision-making body and therefore we do not expect votes to take place.
Members will be appointed to the Group for a defined period and will be expected to comply with the standards of behaviour set out in the Terms of Reference to be agreed by the Group at the first meeting. In conjunction with the Chairs of the Group, officials will provide recommendations to the Secretary of State on any changes to the Group’s membership. This will include looking at whether the Group is sufficiently representative. Any changes proposed will be made with reference to the criteria set out in the guidance published as part of the call for expressions of interest. Changes to membership will be published online.
To facilitate an open and constructive discussion, members will be expected to conform to the highest standards of confidentiality and will be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Members will also be asked to act in the interests of the UK and not as a representative of their organisation.