Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what support her Department is providing to UK maritime businesses to help them attend overseas trade shows.
Answered by Graham Stuart
I refer my Hon. Friend for Southport to the answer I gave to the Rt Hon. Member for North Durham on 16 July 2021, UIN: 28979.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
What recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the maintenance of the rules-based system for international trade.
Answered by Liam Fox
The UK is a strong supporter of the rules-based multilateral trading system. I recently advocated for this at the Global Trade Review 2019 Conference and at the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting where I held meetings with the Director General of the World Trade Organization, Roberto Azevedo and my Japanese counterpart Trade Minister, Mr Hiroshige Seko.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps he has taken to increase the UK's proportion of trade with Tunisia.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Department for International Trade (DIT) works closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for International Development to advance our trade relationship with Tunisia; Ministers and senior officials incorporate discussions on trade issues in their engagements with counterparts in Tunisia. My Hon. Friend for South West Wiltshire (Dr Andrew Murrison), appointed as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Tunisia in 2016, has helped develop a strong bilateral trading relationship.
As we prepare to leave the EU, to provide stability for businesses, consumers and investors, DIT has been working closely with the FCO and its Tunisian counterparts to achieve continuity of trading arrangements by replicating the effects of the existing EU-Tunisia Association Agreement in a bilateral agreement.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what plans he has to promote high food and environmental standards with the UK’s future trading partners.
Answered by George Hollingbery
The Government is proud of our high standards of food safety and environmental protections and these will not be watered down when we leave the EU.
When we leave the EU, we will maintain our current standards. We will keep our existing UK legislation, and the EU Withdrawal Act will convert EU law into UK law as it applies at the moment of exit. This includes the regulatory regime for food safety, animal welfare, and regulatory product requirements for industrial goods.
Nothing in EU trade agreements, for example the recent EU-Canada agreement (CETA), prevents the UK from regulating in the pursuit of legitimate public policy objectives.
Future trade agreements will support sustainability and environmental goals and maintain safety and public confidence in the food we eat. We are exploring all options in the design of future bilateral trade and investment agreements, including possible environmental provisions within these taking into account results of the DIT consultation exercise.