Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many applications were made for membership of the Trade Advisory Groups; how many of those applications were rejected; and if she will publish a list of organisations who have applied for a position on a Trade advisory Group.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
Members of Trade Advisory Groups (TAGs) were selected by my Department to make sure that TAGs included representation from across the United Kingdom and from a cross-section of businesses.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the proposed future UK-Australia trade deal on the (a) UK's and (b) EU's ability to agree a veterinary agreement on sanitary and phytosanitary rules on movements of animals and food products.
Answered by Greg Hands
The UK-Australia deal protects the rights and freedom of both countries to regulate to uphold standards. Both the UK and Australia agree the importance of independent sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regimes.
The agreement allows the UK to cooperate with both Australia and the EU on avoiding unnecessary SPS barriers to trade in agri-food goods without constraining the UK’s right to regulate in these areas.
The UK’s sovereignty will be fully respected as an independent trading nation.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to impose restrictions on the direct and indirect sale of weapons to Myanmar following the military coup in that country.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
There are sanctions against Myanmar (Burma) already, including an arms embargo and a ban on the export of equipment that might be used for internal repression.
HM Government will not issue export licences for items prohibited by these sanctions.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on adding the Welsh Government to the list of public authorities permitted to disclose information under Clause 2 of the Trade (Disclosure of Information) Act 2020.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Department for International Trade (DIT) led engagement with the Welsh Government during the passage of the Trade (Disclosure of Information) Bill.
DIT and the Cabinet Office have committed to working closely with devolved administrations. This will ensure that relevant analysis and information obtained through Clause 2 can be shared to support the delivery of devolved functions. This has been communicated at Ministerial level to devolved administrations.
Our close working with Welsh Government colleagues led them to recommend legislative consent during the passage of the Trade (Disclosure of Information) Bill, and to the Welsh Parliament to grant a legislative consent motion.