Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department plans to take to promote the potential merits of the UK-Australian Free Trade Agreement to businesses in (a) Wakefield and (b) West Yorkshire.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The scoping assessment published in June 2020 assessed the potential impacts of a deal, before negotiations started, under two illustrative scenarios. It found the region of Yorkshire and the Humber benefited in all modelled scenarios.
More than 1,200 businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber exported more than £240 million worth of goods to Australia in 2020. As part of an Free Trade Agreement, manufacturers could benefit from the removal of a 5% tariff on metals exports, and broader tariff elimination could benefit the machinery and transport equipment industries in the region, whilst the removal of tariffs of up to 5% on food and drink could provide new opportunities for Yorkshire and the Humber’s outstanding food and drink producers. Provisions on digital and services will also open up new opportunities for the service sector.
Further to this, the Department for International Trade is establishing a trade hub in Darlington as part of a new strategy to boost exports and bring the benefits of the government’s global trade policy to the whole of the UK, including Yorkshire and the North East, providing exporters with a stronger feed into UK trade policy, to take better advantage of opportunities in fast-growing markets like the Indo-Pacific region.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of the UK-Australian Free Trade Agreement on the economy of (a) Wakefield and (b) West Yorkshire.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The scoping assessment published in June 2020 assessed the potential impacts of a deal, before negotiations started, under two illustrative scenarios. It found the region of Yorkshire and the Humber benefited in all modelled scenarios.
More than 1,200 businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber exported more than £240 million worth of goods to Australia in 2020. As part of an Free Trade Agreement, manufacturers could benefit from the removal of a 5% tariff on metals exports, and broader tariff elimination could benefit the machinery and transport equipment industries in the region, whilst the removal of tariffs of up to 5% on food and drink could provide new opportunities for Yorkshire and the Humber’s outstanding food and drink producers. Provisions on digital and services will also open up new opportunities for the service sector.
Further to this, the Department for International Trade is establishing a trade hub in Darlington as part of a new strategy to boost exports and bring the benefits of the government’s global trade policy to the whole of the UK, including Yorkshire and the North East, providing exporters with a stronger feed into UK trade policy, to take better advantage of opportunities in fast-growing markets like the Indo-Pacific region.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps her Department has taken to increase the volume of trade between the UK and Ukraine.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
Total trade between the United Kingdom and Ukraine was valued at £1.3 billion in 2020. HM Government is taking steps to increase the volume of trade with Ukraine, including in areas such as defence and security, agri-tech, food and drink, green technologies and aerospace, as well as through the promotion of inward investment and the resolution of market access barriers.
Bilateral trade is underpinned by the United Kingdom-Ukraine Political, Free Trade and Strategic Partnership Agreement, offering preferential trading terms for British and Ukrainian businesses, which was signed on 8th October 2020 by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Prime Minister. On the same day, I signed a Memorandum of Understanding between ‘UK Export Finance’, Britain’s official export credit agency, and the Government of Ukraine, underlining our £2.5 billion capacity to support exports to Ukraine and agreeing areas of priority for cooperation.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps her Department has taken to help increase the volume of trade between the UK and Singapore.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK is Singapore’s top European trading partner and Singapore is the UK’s largest trade partner from ASEAN. The UK-Singapore bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) came into force on 1 January 2021. Since 1st January 2021, when the FTA took effect, the Government has been engaging with UK businesses to promote its benefits and is currently focusing on its implementation. Furthermore, the UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement (DEA), whose negotiations the Government intends to launch soon, and the UK’s proposed accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), of which Singapore is a founding member, are also expected to boost bilateral trade flows.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps her Department have taken to increase the volume of trade between the UK and Japan.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) entered into force in January 2021. The Government’s analysis shows that in the long run, the CEPA could increase UK-Japan trade by £15.7 billion compared to a situation where there was no agreement. CEPA goes beyond the EU-Japan deal, with enhancements in areas such as digital and data, financial services, food and drink, and creative industries.
In March 2021, the Department for International Trade launched a four-month trade mission to support businesses to trade with Japan. As of the 27 May 2021, 2,000 UK and Japanese companies have been involved, and over 250 UK businesses have been introduced to Japanese buyers.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of securing a bilateral trade agreement with Malaysia.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
On 1 February 2021 the Government submitted its notification of intent to begin the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) accession process, of which Malaysia is a signatory. This is the first formal step towards accession that aims to deepen the United Kingdom’s access to the fast-growing markets and major economies of the future, including Malaysia.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps her Department has taken to increase the volume of trade between the UK and the Faroe Islands.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
My Department has been implementing the United Kingdom-Faroe Islands Trade Agreement, which secures a trading relationship that was worth £503 million in 2020 and maintains preferential trading conditions for British businesses.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps her Department has taken to help increase the volume of trade between the UK and South Korea.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which entered into force on 1 January 2021, forms the basis of an ambitious new trading partnership between the United Kingdom and South Korea.
The UK also has a Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) with South Korea, led by my Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade. This helps to develop further the positive trade and investment relationship and compliments the opportunities the FTA presents.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps her Department have taken to increase the volume of trade between the UK and the Andean countries.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
Last year, my Department for International Trade successfully negotiated and brought into force the United Kingdom-Andean countries trade agreement, covering Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. Peru is a founder member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership also, and is supportive of our planned accession.
The United Kingdom recently co-chaired trade dialogues with both Colombia and Peru, in which we agreed to work together to boost trade in key sectors, such as services, digital, clean energy and agri-food. As part of our government-to-government deal with Peru, British businesses are working on a £1.7 billion reconstruction of Peruvian public services, following significant damage caused by the climate cycle El Niño in 2017.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps her Department have taken to increase the volume of trade between the UK and Canada.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement (TCA) entered into force on 1 April. It facilitates bilateral trade worth £17.7bn in 2020. On 18 May, the Government launched a public Call for Input on how this deal might be improved for UK businesses and consumers. Later this year negotiations will begin for a new and ambitious trade deal with Canada that goes even further in key areas of mutual interest.