Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the Trade and Agriculture Commission will be involved in the final stages of negotiating the Australia-UK free trade agreement prior to signature.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Commission will scrutinise the signed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Australia to inform Parliamentary scrutiny. The role of the Trade and Agriculture Commission is not to advise on negotiations. Its role will be as debated and approved during the passage of the Trade Act 2021 and the Agriculture Act 2020.
The Department has increased engagement with key agricultural stakeholders during FTA negotiations through its dedicated agri-food Trade Advisory Group, which meets at least three times a year, or as required by developments in the free trade negotiation process.
Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent assessment the Government has made of the effect on the rights of indigenous peoples in Brazil of British businesses importing resources or products from that country.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
The United Kingdom has a strong history of promoting her values globally.
We continue to support work with indigenous communities across Brazil, including in the Amazon region. We are taking steps domestically to tackle illegal deforestation and, through our Partnership for Forests programme, we are supporting almost 2,000 indigenous people to strengthen their livelihoods through sustainable forest management.
Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to increase food and farming exports.
Answered by Mark Garnier
Increasing food and farming exports is a priority, with products sold in over 200 countries around the world and we are ambitious to do more. My Department is leading 12 food and agricultural technology export campaigns covering 24 key markets We have just launched our International Food and Drink Action Plan setting out how Government and industry will work together to increase exports even further.