Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what proportion of exports by (a) number of exporters and (b) value of exports used the tariff rates agreed in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership during the last period for which data is available.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We do not have this information as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) has not yet entered into force.
The Accession Protocol for the UK’s entry into the CPTPP was signed on 16 July 2023. Entry into force will take place once the UK and the requisite number of CPTPP Parties have finished their legal procedures. We expect this to happen in the second half of 2024.
Joining CPTPP means that over 99% of current UK goods exports to CPTPP will be eligible for tariff-free trade.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what restrictions the Government has imposed on (a) Huawei, (b) ZTE, (c) Hikvision, (d) Hytera, (e) Alibaba, (f) Tencent, (g) Dahua, (h) China Telecom, (i) China Mobile, (j) DJI, (k) ByteDance, (l) Kingsoft, (m) senseTime, (n) Megvil, (o) SMIC, (p) China Unicom and (q) Fujian Jinhua.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
This is a matter for the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will set out (a) the free trade agreements her Department is currently actively negotiating and (b) the number of FTE officials engaged in this work.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This Government is currently in negotiations with eight partners – India, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Canada, Mexico, Israel, Switzerland, Greenland and the Republic of Korea. We also have plans to start negotiations with Turkey and the Maldives.
With the Machine of Government, Trade Negotiation Group increased its responsibility to cover wider trade policy and FTA implementation. In October 2023, DBT had 722 staff in the Trade Policy, Implementation and Negotiations Group.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2023 to Question 2516 on Foreign Investment in UK and Overseas Trade: China, how many export control licences for (a) products and (b) services destined for China were refused in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
HM Government does not publish data based on products or services, but individual refusals and the items that may have been refused under each one can be reviewed at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data via the Annual Reports, or via the Strategic Export Controls: Reports and Statistics website at https://www.exportcontroldb.trade.gov.uk/sdb2/fox/sdb/.
The following number of export licences with China listed as the end user destination were refused in each of the last five years:
Description of refused goods | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
Goods rated for Military use only | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 13 |
Goods rated for non-Military use only | 71 | 67 | 89 | 112 | 238 |
Total | 73 | 69 | 92 | 113 | 251 |
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what her Department's policy is on investment from UK investors in (a) the production of (i) semiconductors and (ii) microelectronics, (b) quantum information technologies and (c) artificial intelligence sectors in China; and what (A) statutory provisions apply to and (B) guidance her Department has issued on such investment.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As per the Atlantic Declaration, the UK and US have a shared objective in preventing our companies’ capital and expertise from fuelling technological advances that will enhance the military and intelligence capabilities of countries of concern. DBT, alongside other relevant departments, is assessing the potential national security risks to the UK posed by Outward Direct Investment, including within subsets of emerging technology. We have engaged with industry and posted guidance on GOV.UK
The Integrated Review 2023 is clear that the UK government supports a positive trade and investment relationship with China, where it is consistent with our interests, values, and national security.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the US President’s Executive Order on Addressing United States Investments in Certain National Security Technologies and Products in Countries of Concern of 9 August 2023.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are reviewing the Presidential Executive Order to consider the impact on the UK and UK businesses and consulting with industry during this time. We understand the US policy remains in a consultative phase following the issuance of the Executive Order. As such, it is still under development.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much funding was made available through the British Business Bank's National Security Strategic Investment Fund in each industrial sector in each year since its establishment.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As of June 2023, the National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF) has committed £220m to British Business Bank backed funds, of which £92m has been invested in 217 companies across twelve areas of interest. Private sector investors have invested £718m alongside NSSIF. The sectoral breakdown across the twelve areas of interest is as follows: Audio and Visual Processing £1.1m, Biorisk and Medtech £10.8m, Commercial Space, Platforms and Robotics £1.6m, Computational Behavioural Analysis £1.3m, Cyber Security £14.0m, Data Analytics and AI £28.6m, Financial Technologies £21.7m, Identity Technologies £6.8m, IOT and the Evolving Environment £1.0m, Novel Data Transport £0.1m, Quantum Technologies £2.1m, Sensors, Novel Materials and Power Sources £2.9m
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, which spending programmes their Department devolves for administration to (a) local government in England and (b) other local spending bodies; and what the budget is of each such programme for each year for which budgets are agreed.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department publishes its support to local government and other bodies as part of the annual report of the application of the Industrial Development Act 1982. This includes details of support to Local Enterprise Partnerships (and relevant Mayoral Combined Authorities) for the delivery of Growth Hubs under sections 11 and 12 of the Act. The budget for 2023/24 is £11.9 million. Future years’ budgets are subject to confirmation under the Department’s normal business planning processes.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, which Chinese-origin firms have been subject to restrictions on trade and investment under the (a) Import of Goods (Control) Order 1954, (b) (i) Export Control Act 2002 and (ii) Export Control Order 2008, (c) Procurement Act 2023, (d) Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021 and (e) National Security and Investment Act 2021 in the last five years.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
(a) The Import of Goods (Control) Order 1954, together with licences made under it, do not make Chinese-origin firms the subject of any restrictions on trade and investment.
(b) Export controls apply to anyone exporting controlled items from the UK, regardless of country of origin. The Government assesses all export licence applications against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. We will not licence the export of equipment where to do so would be inconsistent with these Criteria.
(c) None. The Procurement Act is not due for commencement until Autumn 2024.
(d) Huawei
(e) Eight final orders (which imposed conditions on, or blocked or unwound deals) issued involved acquirers linked to China. All notices of final orders are available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her Department's policies of (a) the EU's publication entitled European economic security strategy, published on 26 June 2023 and (b) Executive Order 14017 on America's Supply Chains, signed by President Biden on 24 February 2021.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
a) The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and other departments have assessed the high-level strategy published by the EU, which broadly aligns with UK interests. DBT is engaging closely with the EU and Member States across this agenda at ministerial and senior official level, as well as in technical discussions on specific policy areas.
b) Executive Order 14017 instructs heads of US agencies to complete reviews of supply chain resilience. It does not directly impact UK policies. This Government has been proactively working with allies including the US on resilience, including reducing vulnerabilities in critical technologies and on clean energy supply chains through our Atlantic Declaration.