Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2017 to Question 107255, on the UK-US Trade and Investment Working Group, what the implications of the difficulties experienced by Bombardier in trading with the US are for maintaining commercial continuity when the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
WTO rules provide that members can establish a trade remedies framework and undertake investigations into alleged dumping or subsidisation of imports. To operate an independent trade policy, we will need to put in place a trade remedies framework. As an important part of a rounded trade policy, after our exit from the EU, our trade remedies framework will protect domestic industry against unfair and injurious trade practices.
The US and UK are strong partners and allies. The US is the UK’s largest single trading partner and as such, our joint relationship is a crucial part of our economy and the US-UK economic relationship is crucially important.
The UK Government has maintained that Boeing’s complaint to the US Department of Commerce is unjustified, and we will continue to strongly defend our case.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 11 October 2017 to Question 106245, if he will place in the Library the minutes of meetings he or his Department's officials attended in July 2017 with counterparts in the US Administration and the Canadian Government on the Bombardier-Boeing dispute.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade and UK Government officials were in close and frequent contact with their American and Canadian counterparts during July 2017. The commercially sensitive nature of these discussions means that we are unable to release the minutes requested.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 15 September 2017 to Question 9154, if he will publish details of (a) US Administration staff, (b) business representatives and (c) others with whom (i) he and (ii) his Departmental staff had meetings to discuss the Bombardier-Boeing dispute during his visit to the US in July 2017.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
During my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade’s visit to the US in July 2017 numerous discussions were held with the Canadian and the US Administration and with business representatives in regards to the Bombardier-Boeing dispute. We are extremely disappointed at the preliminary ruling but we are working closely with the Canadian government to bring Boeing into constructive discussions. Due to the confidential nature of these meetings and commercial sensitivity, we are unable to provide further details.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 15 September 2017 to Question 9154, if he will publish the agenda of the plenary session of the first meeting of UK-US Trade and Investment Working Group that he chaired in July 2017.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The initial meeting of the UK-US Trade and Investment Working Group, including the plenary session chaired by my Rt. Hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade and the US Trade Representative, Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, discussed a range of trade issues This included ensuring commercial continuity for business as the UK leaves the EU, exploring possible ways to strengthen trade and commercial ties consistent with the EU's common commercial policy, and preparing the ground for a potential future trade agreement once the UK leaves the EU.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 15 September 2017 to Question 9154, whether he discussed the Bombardier-Boeing dispute with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross during his visit to the US in July 2017.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We have had Cabinet level engagement with the US Administration and Canadian government. We continue to make efforts alongside the Canadian government to get Boeing into discussions to resolve the case. Ministers across government together with officials have engaged with the US and Canadian administrations and at Bombardier in Canada and Belfast to help in bringing this issue to a solution.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate he has made of the number of staff required to assist in trade negotiations; how many such staff have been hired; and what the budget is for the employment of such staff.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for International Trade (DIT) has a strong and capable trade policy team which has grown significantly since July 2016, and is continuing to grow.
We continue to hire the brightest and best talent from within the UK civil service and externally, in order to build a world class trade policy team that can deliver the best outcomes for the UK. The Department recently appointed Crawford Falconer to the role of Chief Trade Negotiation Adviser, Head of Trade Profession and Second Permanent Secretary.
DIT are committed to delivering a successful exit from the EU. With budgets being dependant on the outcomes of negotiations with the European Union and on policy decisions yet to be taken, it is not possible to provide a figure at this time. DIT will publish our financial accounts which will detail our total expenditure on staff at year end.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, which agencies his Department has used to recruit staff to that Department.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Recruitment of permanent staff into the Department for International Trade is done through Civil Service Resourcing (CSR), who utilise a set group of Crown Commercial Service approved recruitment agencies for certain posts.
Since the Department’s creation in July 2016, through CSR we have engaged with the following agencies to recruit permanent staff:
- Russell Reynolds Associates
- Veredus Executive Search and Selection
- Moloney Search
- Odgers Berndtson
We have also used the in-house Civil Service Executive Search function to fill posts, managed internally by CSR.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will list all the (a) US Administration staff, (b) business representatives and (c) others he met during his visit to the US in July 2017.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
During his visit my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade and the US Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, chaired the plenary session of the first meeting of UK-US Trade and Investment Working Group. The meeting included representatives from US and UK Government agencies and delegations. During the visit, he also met with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, members of Congress and took part in various speaker events. He completed the American visit by travelling to Houston to hold meetings related to international trade and investment.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will publish details of (a) US Administration staff, (b) business representatives and (c) others who (i) he and (ii) Departmental staff had meetings with during his visit to the US in July 2017.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
During his visit my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade and the US Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, chaired the plenary session of the first meeting of UK-US Trade and Investment Working Group. The meeting included representatives from US and UK Government agencies and delegations. During the visit, he also met with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, members of Congress and took part in various speaker events. He completed the American visit by travelling to Houston to hold meetings related to international trade and investment.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will publish a list of future meetings with (a) US Administration staff, (b) business representatives and (c) others who he plans to hold discussions with in each of the next six months.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The United States is an important bilateral trading relationship and vital to our economy. Total trade between the UK and US in 2016, totalled £167.6bn and both sides have committed to deepening our commercial relationship further. Over the next six months we will be in regular contact with the US Administration, business representatives and others, including through our diplomatic missions in the United States, to support and increase investment and trade flows. To this end, my hon Friend, the Minister for Investment (Mark Garnier MP), will be visiting the US next week.