Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he has taken to negotiate a free trade deal with Grenada after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by George Hollingbery
The UK signed the CARIFORUM-UK Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Grenada on 22 March 2019. This will provide continuity for businesses, exporters and consumers as the UK prepares to leave the EU.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what progress he has made in carrying over the existing EU trade agreement with Syria.
Answered by George Hollingbery
Since 2012, the UK Government has suspended any engagement with the Syrian regime and closed the British Embassy in Damascus. Additionally, the EU-Syria Cooperation Agreement is currently suspended, including the chapters on trade in crude oil, petroleum products, gold, precious metals and diamonds. The Department for International Trade has no plans to transition this agreement over at this time.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what progress he has made on a free trade deal with the United Arab Emirates.
Answered by George Hollingbery
Formal negotiations on free trade deals cannot begin until after the UK leaves the EU.
The UK’s engagement on the future trading relationship with the United Arab Emirates is being conducted through the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The greatest progress in UK-GCC trade liberalisation is likely to come from adopting an “agile” approach to trade policy, in the short-term. This will include exploring non-tariff measures, such as regulatory barriers to market access, that could help facilitate free-flowing trade. We have started to discuss this approach with the GCC.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of reduced legal certainty in Hong Kong on UK trade and investment with China.
Answered by George Hollingbery
The protests in Hong Kong have shown the strength of feeling among its people. It is vital that Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy is respected, including the rule of law. As a strong supporter of the “One country, two systems” principle, we have a high level of ambition for our trade and investment relationship with China and Hong Kong. We are determined to work with both China and Hong Kong to further improve our trade relationship to increase trade and investment flows.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what powers he has to request from the Olympic Organising Committee information on the way in which specific equipment supply contracts (a) have been and (b) will be awarded.
Answered by Graham Stuart
My Department has developed strong relationships with the Organising Committees for Tokyo 2020 (TOCOG) and Paris 2024, and has consistently promoted UK strengths in the Sports Economy sector, via inward and outward missions, one-to-one meetings, events and marketing collateral.
The responsibility for how specific contracts are tendered and awarded for Olympic and Paralympic Games lies solely with each local Organising Committee. HMG has encouraged both Organising Committees to utilise international best practice. Tokyo 2020 has a procurement portal listing upcoming contracts, which is fully accessible to UK companies.
All tenders for the Paris 2024 Games will be published on the “Bulletin Officiel”, the official platform for public procurement in France. This platform is open to companies globally, and UK companies can freely bid for tenders. DIT are working closely with our colleagues in France to ensure relevant opportunities for these games are directed towards potential UK suppliers.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether procurement processes for the provision of equipment for Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 will be open to UK businesses.
Answered by Graham Stuart
My Department has developed strong relationships with the Organising Committees for Tokyo 2020 (TOCOG) and Paris 2024, and has consistently promoted UK strengths in the Sports Economy sector, via inward and outward missions, one-to-one meetings, events and marketing collateral.
The responsibility for how specific contracts are tendered and awarded for Olympic and Paralympic Games lies solely with each local Organising Committee. HMG has encouraged both Organising Committees to utilise international best practice. Tokyo 2020 has a procurement portal listing upcoming contracts, which is fully accessible to UK companies.
All tenders for the Paris 2024 Games will be published on the “Bulletin Officiel”, the official platform for public procurement in France. This platform is open to companies globally, and UK companies can freely bid for tenders. DIT are working closely with our colleagues in France to ensure relevant opportunities for these games are directed towards potential UK suppliers.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department has taken to promote UK businesses for the award of Olympic Games contracts.
Answered by Graham Stuart
My Department has developed strong relationships with the Organising Committees for Tokyo 2020 (TOCOG) and Paris 2024, and has consistently promoted UK strengths in the Sports Economy sector, via inward and outward missions, one-to-one meetings, events and marketing collateral.
The responsibility for how specific contracts are tendered and awarded for Olympic and Paralympic Games lies solely with each local Organising Committee. HMG has encouraged both Organising Committees to utilise international best practice. Tokyo 2020 has a procurement portal listing upcoming contracts, which is fully accessible to UK companies.
All tenders for the Paris 2024 Games will be published on the “Bulletin Officiel”, the official platform for public procurement in France. This platform is open to companies globally, and UK companies can freely bid for tenders. DIT are working closely with our colleagues in France to ensure relevant opportunities for these games are directed towards potential UK suppliers.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the Government has received assurances that UK businesses will be able to tender for the provision of clay pigeon shooting traps for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and for Paris 2024.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Tenders for the Tokyo 2020 Games and responsibility for how contracts are procured lies with the local Organising Committee. UK companies can access tenders for the Games via the Procurement Portal - tokyo2020.org/en/organising-committee/procurement/
All tenders for the Paris 2024 Games will be published on the “Bulletin Officiel”, the official platform for public procurement in France and UK companies can freely bid for tenders.
The British Embassies in Tokyo and Paris can assist companies in identifying specific tenders when available on the procurement website.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what guarantees of financial stability are required from firms tendering to supply sports equipment for Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.
Answered by Graham Stuart
There has been no consistent requirement regarding the financial status of companies for Tokyo 2020 contracts. It has been on a tender-by-tender basis. Tenders can be accessed via: www.tokyo2020.org/en/organising-committee/procurement/
Procurement is still at a very early stage with regards to Paris 2024. Procurement opportunities, outside of infrastructure, will accelerate after Tokyo 2020. We will then have more of an understanding around what guarantees of financial stability are required.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether he plans to make increased trade with Indonesia conditional on the removal of virginity tests for women applying to the Indonesian military.
Answered by George Hollingbery
The UK has a strong history of protecting human rights and promoting our values globally. We were the first country to produce a National Action Plan to implement UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. We will continue to encourage all states to uphold international human rights obligations.
As we develop our independent trade policy, we recognise the need to maximise benefits of trade whilst staying true to our values.