Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps she has taken to increase the proportion of UK trade through free trade agreements.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
We have secured trade agreements with 70 countries plus the EU, partners that accounted for £808bn of UK bilateral trade in 2021.
The Department for International Trade can report significant progress this year. We have signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with New Zealand and a Digital Economy Agreement with Singapore. We have completed three rounds of FTA negotiations with India and one round with Canada. We have completed a Call for Input on an enhanced FTA with Israel, and launched FTA negotiations with Mexico, Switzerland and Greenland. We are preparing to launch FTA negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to ensure that workers’ rights are maintained in all UK trade agreements.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The Government shares the public’s high regard for workers' rights and the Prime Minister has been clear that there will be no reduction in UK protections in signing up to new Free Trade Agreements.
The agreements secured with both Australia and New Zealand demonstrate our resolve to maintain workers’ rights, and our commitment to maintain high standards.
The Government has also committed to maintaining these standards in various public mandates, that set out our approach to trade negotiations.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she has taken to protect domestic food standards when negotiating free trade agreements.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
We have not and will not compromise on our high food safety through our trade negotiations. These decisions are made independently of free trade agreements (FTAs).
The independent Trade and Agriculture Commission considers whether our FTAs affect the United Kingdom’s statutory protections in relation to animal or plant life or health, animal welfare, and the environment - and recently concluded that the United Kingdom-Australia FTA does not.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answers of 21 June 2021 to Question 16807 on Trade Agreements: Australia and to Question 16808 on Livestock: Australia, what assessment she has made of whether Australian farmers would be allowed to export chickens reared using barren battery cages to the UK; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Department for International Trade has always been clear that the deal with Australia will not compromise the UK’s high standards. This agreement does not create new permissions for imports from Australia. Imports will continue to meet the same UK food safety and biosecurity import standards as they did before.
The Government has secured a comprehensive partnership to work with Australia, including internationally, to progress animal welfare in partnership with Australia. The Government has also agreed a non-regression clause on animal welfare - a first in a Free Trade Agreement. This commitment means that neither country can lower their animal welfare standards to undercut the other.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the legality of (a) barren battery cages, (b) sow stalls, (c) hormone-fed beef, (d) hot branding and (e) mulesing in Australia on (i) food and (ii) farming standards in the UK.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Department for International Trade has always been clear that this deal will not compromise the UK’s high standards. Imports will still have to meet the same UK food safety and biosecurity import standards as they did before.
This deal will also not unfairly undercut UK farmers. The Government has agreed a ground-breaking non-regression clause on animal welfare, which means that neither country can lower their animal welfare standards to undercut the other. The Government has also agreed a general safeguard mechanism which will provide a safety net for industry if they face serious injury from increased imports as a direct consequence of the Free Trade Agreement.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department plans to take to ensure that the UK's (a) farming standards are upheld and (b) farmers are not undercut by imports of animal products produced with lower standards in Australia as part of the free trade agreement with that country.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Department for International Trade has always been clear that this deal will not compromise the UK’s high standards. Imports will still have to meet the same UK food safety and biosecurity import standards as they did before.
This deal will also not unfairly undercut UK farmers. The Government hasagreed a ground-breaking non-regression clause on animal welfare, which means that neither country can lower their animal welfare standards to undercut the other. The Government hasalso agreed a general safeguard mechanism which will provide a safety net for industry if they face serious injury from increased imports as a direct consequence of the Free Trade Agreement.