Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the automotive sector on the potential economic effect of the imposition of tariffs in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by George Hollingbery
If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the UK will implement a temporary tariff for up to 12 months. The Government held informal conversations specifically in relation to tariff policy throughout the summer of 2018 with businesses, including the automotive sector. The market sensitivities around the policy and ongoing EU negotiations have meant a formal consultation with business was not possible. However, a full consultation and review on a permanent approach would be undertaken during the 12 months.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the US Administration on food standards in relation to a future trade deal after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by George Hollingbery
Whilst we cannot negotiate any trade agreements before leaving the EU, the Government has made it clear that any future deal with the US must work for UK consumers, farmers and food manufacturers as well as protecting the UK’s high standards of food safety, animal welfare and environmental protection.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the Governments of EEA and EFTA member states on the future of trade with those countries in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by George Hollingbery
As we leave the EU, the UK remains committed to continuing our close trading relationships with our EEA and EFTA partners. The Government is working to ensure there is no disruption to our trading relationships, including maintaining the effects of our existing preferential trade arrangements with Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
Most recently, the Secretary of State signed trade agreements with Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Ministers and officials in the Department for International Trade continue to work closely with counterparts in the EEA States to put in place new arrangements should the UK leaving the EU without a deal. Fully replicating the effects of the existing arrangements will be challenging if we do not reach a deal with the EU due to the high degree of alignment with the EU internal market.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate his Department has made of the level of overseas direct investment (a) put in to the West Midlands economy and (b) invested abroad by West Midlands-based businesses in each year that information is available.
Answered by George Hollingbery
In the last three years the Department for International Trade has recorded the following overseas direct investment projects and new jobs into the West Midlands.
Year | Projects | New Jobs |
2017/18 | 171 | 9,424 |
2016/17 | 151 | 6,570 |
2015/16 | 168 | 11,119 |
The Department does not currently publish figures relating to UK companies investing overseas.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate her Department has made of the value of UK-made military equipment sold to the Saudi Government since 2010.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Sales data by region for military exports are published annually on GOV.UK. at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defence-and-security-exports-for-2017/uk-defence-and-security-export-statistics-for-2017.
The Government also publishes Official Statistics about export licences granted and refused on a quarterly and annual basis, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data. The data, which includes export values for some licences, currently provides details of licences up to 30 June 2018. Information covering the period 1 July to 30 September 2018 will be published in January 2018.
However, licences granted are not a measure of sales or exports shipped in a given period as they are generally valid for between two and five years. Licensing data only provides a partial indication of sales as exporters only declare export values for a subsection of licences (Standard Individual Export Licences). Some licences expire before they are used and in these circumstances exporters must submit a further application, which can result in a significant element of double counting.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions he has had with the Economic Community of West African States on trade with the UK after the UK has left the EU.
Answered by Graham Stuart
On leaving the EU, the Taxation (Cross-Border Trade) Act will enable the Government to put in place a UK trade preferences scheme for developing countries. This will provide the same level of access as the current EU trade preference scheme meaning continued duty-free, quota-free access for Least Developed Countries which are part of the Economic Community of West African states (ECOWAS) and generous tariff reductions for other ECOWAS countries.
In the absence of this regional agreement, EU ‘stepping stone’ Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana have been provisionally applied since 2016. As the UK exits the EU, we aim to replicate the effects of these EPAs to avoid trade disruption with these countries. We have been in dialogue with both Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana to achieve this continuity.
Currently there is no agreement in force between the EU and the 16 West Africa States, the Economic Community of West African states (ECOWAS). Should this change, the UK would look to transition the agreement.