Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department has taken to recommence multilateral talks on the proposed Trade in Services Agreement.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Making multilateral progress on services trade liberalisation is a priority for the UK as an independent trading nation. As an active member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the UK is advancing market access negotiations through the Joint Initiatives on Services Domestic Regulation and E-Commerce, which draw on and have a much broader membership than the Trade in Services Agreement. Demonstrating further global services leadership, we are co-sponsoring exploratory market access discussions on environmental services and financial services at the WTO. We will continue to advocate strongly for services trade liberalisation in our multilateral and plurilateral engagement, including through the UK Presidency of the G7 trade track and through the G20.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to improve (a) trade links with Qatar and (b) investment in the UK from Qatari businesses.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
In 2019, total trade between the United Kingdom and Qatar was £7.2 billion, an increase of 37% (£1.9 billion) from 2018 and there are significant existing investment links between our countries. HM Government is committed to supporting more bilateral trade and investment.
My Department will continue to work with our Qatari counterparts to identify ways to boost trade and investment and remove barriers to trade. To explore opportunities to support our bilateral trade, the United Kingdom-Qatar Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) has been established and, in June, our third Working Group took place with the Qatar Investment Authority to promote the United Kingdom as a top investment destination and discuss future investment opportunities.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to improve (a) trade links with Bahrain and (b) investment in the UK from Bahraini businesses.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
In 2019, total trade between the United Kingdom and Bahrain was £1.3 billion, an increase of 10% (£117 million) from 2018 and there are significant existing investment links between our countries. HM Government is committed to supporting more bilateral trade and investment.
My Department will continue to work with our Bahraini counterparts to identify ways to boost trade and investment and remove barriers. Through recent engagement, Bahrain simplified certification requirements for goods, enabling British businesses to continue to export to Bahrain during the Covid-19 pandemic.