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 held with his counterparts in Mercosur on future trade agreements with those countries after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by George Hollingbery
Whilst an EU member state we have strongly supported EU-Mercosur trade negotiations. It is essential to maintain momentum with these discussions and we hope to see political agreement as soon as possible.
In March 2018, my Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade co-chaired the tenth UK-Brazil Joint Economic and Trade Committee with the Brazilian Minister for Industry, Foreign Trade and Services, Marcos Jorge de Lima. The Ministers reiterated their commitment to facilitating increased trade, creating opportunities and enhancing bilateral economic relations.
Furthermore, the Secretary of State met with his Argentinian counterparts while at the G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting in September 2018.
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 his US counterpart on the viability of a UK-US trade agreement after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by George Hollingbery
My Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade has spoken on numerous occasions to the United States Trade Representative, and there have been five meetings of the UK-US Trade and Investment Working Group to date. We have been very clear that the UK will have an independent trade policy, when we leave the EU and that we will be able to negotiate, sign and ratify new Free Trade Agreements with countries around the world, including with the US, after we leave the EU on 29 March.
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 governments of non-EU countries on (a) the draft withdrawal agreement for the UK leaving the EU and (b) the effect of that draft agreement on future trading relationships between the UK and such countries since that draft agreement was agreed by Cabinet.
Answered by George Hollingbery
The Department for International Trade is talking to a number of countries on a variety of future trading options, exploring the best ways of progressing our trade and investment relationships, which could include new Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).
The Prime Minister has been clear that after we leave the European Union, we will establish an independent trade policy. Upon leaving the EU, the UK will be able to negotiate, sign and ratify FTAs with rest of world partners.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many staff were (a) employed by and (b) seconded to his Department at May (i) 2017 and (ii) 2018.
Answered by Greg Hands
The number of staff working for the Department for International Trade (DIT) and UK Export Finance (UKEF) is set out below.
The totals shown include all people engaged in DIT business activities. This includes employees, contractors and those on loan from other government departments or seconded from organisations external to the Civil Service.
DIT & UKEF calculate and report their workforce at the end of each month. As the totals for May 2018 are not yet available, comparative figures for end of April are being shown between (i) 2017 and (ii) 2018.
| DIT and UKEF Total Staff | Of which are inward secondees from organisations outside the Civil Service |
30 April 2017 | 3,039 | 22 |
30 April 2018 | 3,779 | 17 |
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what was the value is of UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia 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/uk-defence-and-security-export-figures-2016/uk-defence-and-security-export-statistics-for-2016
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 31 December 2017. Information about the period 1 January to 31 March 2018 will be published in July 2018.
However, licences granted are not necessarily 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.