Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the announcement of the membership of the Trade and Agriculture Commission, if she will make it her policy to add independent (a) consumer interest and (b) public health experts to that membership; and for what reasons experts in those fields are not currently included.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Trade and Agriculture Commission has a cross-section of representatives covering the interests of the agriculture sector, consumers, animal health, international development, hospitality, food small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and retail.
Beyond the membership of the Commission itself, there will be ways for relevant experts to contribute to the work of the Commission.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to her letter to MPs on food standards and future trade deals dated 5 June 2020, what assessment her Department has made of its ability to exercise power over production methods and standards overseas including on (a) environmental protection, (b) animal welfare and (c) pesticides; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
The approach of HM Government to food standards in trade deals is clear. We remain firmly committed to upholding our high environmental, food safety and animal welfare standards. Having left the EU, we will decide how we set and maintain our own laws, standards and regulations. We will remain global leaders in environmental protection and animal welfare standards, maintaining the high-quality of our produce for consumers at home and overseas.
The United Kingdom’s food standards, for both domestic production and imports, are overseen by the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland. These agencies provide independent advice to HM Government and the devolved administration in Scotland respectively. They will continue to do so in order to ensure that all food imports comply with the United Kingdom’s high standards.
Decisions on our standards are a matter for the United Kingdom and will be made separately from any trade agreement. HM Government will stand firm in trade negotiations to make sure that any future trade deals live up to the values of farmers and consumers across the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the value was of export credits awarded to oil, gas and fracking projects in Argentina in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Since current records began in May 2011, UK Export Finance (UKEF) has not provided support directly to any fracking projects in Argentina.
UKEF provided an export working capital guarantee of £375,000 to support a UK company to provide a drilling simulator and consultancy services in Argentina in March 2017.
In September 2017 UKEF provided an export working capital guarantee of £290,000 to the same exporter for provision of drilling consultancy services in Argentina.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to her statement at the British Chamber of Commerce webinar on Building Supply Chain Resilience and Diversity, what the evidential basis is for her statement that extending the transition period will lead to more uncertainty for businesses; and if her Department has conducted a revised economic impact assessment of its trade policy in response to the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government has made clear that it will not seek to extend the transition period, and if the EU asks, we will say no.
Extending the transition would simply prolong the negotiations with the EU and prolong business uncertainty. It would mean further payments into the EU budget and keep the UK bound by EU legislation at a point when we need legislative and economic flexibility to manage the response to the pandemic.
The Government is tracking trade developments and monitoring external forecasts of the impact of the pandemic on global and UK trade, and continues to engage with UK businesses to understand the challenges they are facing as a result of the disruptions caused by the pandemic.
The latest official trade statistics are for February. We are committed to transparency and will ensure that parliamentarians, UK citizens and businesses have access to the information they need on our trade policy and analysis.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant the Answer of 18 February 2020 to Question 14658 on Arms Trade: Saudi Arabia, what the process is for the work to be undertaken to enable the re-taking of decisions on the correct legal basis.
Answered by Greg Hands
Progress is being made and a decision will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2020 to Question 12924, what her Department's timescale is for considering how to factor climate change and environmental impacts into the Government's trade strategy.
Answered by Graham Stuart
This Department continues to explore all options in the design of future trade and investment agreements, including environmental provisions within these, taking into account responses to the Government’s consultation exercise. We are committed to upholding the UK’s high environmental standards and will consider the full range of mechanisms available to us. The Government shares the public’s high regard for the UK’s environmental protections and has made clear that we will not compromise on these.
Furthermore, the Department for International Trade will continue to promote export and investment opportunities in clean growth sectors, building on the UK’s world-leading capabilities in offshore wind, smart energy systems, green finance and electric vehicle manufacture, among others.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the letter dated 26 January 2018 from the Panel of Experts on Yemen mandated by Security Council resolution 2342 (2017) addressed to the President of the Security Council, what steps she has taken to retake the decision to grant the licences for the transfer of components manufactured by EDO MBM Technology Limited UK as required by the Court of Appeal judgment of 20 June 2019.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government continues to carefully consider the implications of the Court of Appeal Judgment for decision making and is progressing the work to enable the re-taking of decisions on the correct legal basis. No specific timetable has been set for this work to be concluded. We disagree with the judgment and have submitted a Notice of Appeal to the Supreme Court.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to her Written Statement 4 February 2020, Free Trade Agreements with the Rest of the World, HCWS96, if she will make it her policy that all imported products conform to regulatory requirements equivalent to those of products made in the UK; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Conor Burns
The Government has been clear that we will not compromise on our world class product standards. Any future trade agreements must uphold our high regulatory standards. All products sold in the UK are required to meet our regulatory requirements, and this will continue to be the case.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the Prime Minister's speech in Greenwich on 3 February 2020, what steps the Government is taking to calculate the UK's carbon footprint in relation to (a) inward and (b) outward trade; and what estimate he has made of the potential increase in that footprint after the transition period.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Department for International Trade is considering how to factor climate change and environmental impacts into the Government’s trade strategy, in order to drive the transition to a more sustainable global economy, whilst delivering economic benefits for the UK.
Climate change and the need to reduce carbon emissions is driving a global market for ‘clean’ technologies, services and infrastructure. The Government will maintain and seek to advance the UK’s world-leading environmental, labour and anti-corruption standards, including to support domestic climate ambition and UK low carbon industries, technology and innovation.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2020 to Question 2474, what businesses (a) were invited to and (b) attended the UK-Africa Investment Summit on 20 January 2020.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Subject to data disclosure rules I will write to the Hon Member as soon as I can with more information. A copy of this letter will be placed in the libraries of the House.