Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2017 to Question 60711, with which other countries or groups of countries the Government is planning to enter trade negotiations after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Greg Hands
As the UK leaves the EU, we are looking at all opportunities to strengthen our trading relationships. Ministers and officials in DIT are working with counterparts in a wide range of markets to promote the UK as a great place to do business and with which to trade.
Since the answer of 27 January, the Prime Minister has agreed with President Trump to take forward high-level talks to lay the groundwork for a UK-US trade agreement once we leave the EU, and to identify the practical steps we can take now. The Prime Minister also announced Joint Working Groups with Turkey and Israel to continue to progress our trade and investment relationships at present, and to prepare the ground for our post-Brexit trading arrangements.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assistance has been (a) offered and (b) requested from his counterparts in Australia on the negotiation of trade agreements relating to the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Greg Hands
The UK has held several discussions with Australia to share best practice on developing possible future trade agreements. This will continue to form part of discussions in the UK-Australia Trade Working Group, alongside scoping of a future UK-Australia free trade agreement and wider trade issues.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment the Government has made of which WTO rules and practices pertain to the UK (a) in the UK's own right and (b) through the UK's membership of the EU.
Answered by Greg Hands
The United Kingdom is a founding member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). As such, the UK is bound by the rights and obligations that apply to all WTO Members. That will continue unchanged as we leave the EU. There are a number of WTO plurilateral agreements where obligations only apply to a subset of the WTO Membership. We will consider membership of those agreements on a case by case basis. We will do so in line with our overall ambition to replicate as far as possible our current obligations and to minimise disruption to global trade.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether all WTO rules and practices pertaining to the UK will continue to do so in the event that the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Greg Hands
The United Kingdom is a founding member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). As such, the UK is bound by the rights and obligations that apply to all WTO Members. That will continue unchanged as we leave the EU. There are a number of WTO plurilateral agreements where obligations only apply to a subset of the WTO Membership. We will consider membership of those agreements on a case by case basis. We will do so in line with our overall ambition to replicate as far as possible our current obligations and to minimise disruption to global trade.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many non-EU countries he has had discussions with on potential negotiations for a trade deal after the UK has left the EU.
Answered by Mark Garnier - Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary (Work and Pensions)
We cannot negotiate and conclude trade agreements while we are a member of the EU, but we can have discussions on our future trading relationships. We have already announced working groups and dialogues on our future trading relationships with seven markets: Australia, China, India, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea and the Gulf Cooperation Council, which comprises six countries. As the Prime Minister has said, we want to build a truly Global Britain—a great, global, trading nation that is one of the firmest advocates for free trade anywhere in the world.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on exporters from developing countries.
Answered by Mark Garnier - Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary (Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon Member for North East Fife to the answer I gave him on 23 January 2017, UIN: 59936.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how the Government plans to ensure that exporters from developing countries continue to have access to the UK market under their existing terms after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Mark Garnier - Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary (Work and Pensions)
The UK believes in a free and open approach to trade. The Government is committed to ensuring developing countries can reduce poverty through trading opportunities. The Department for International Trade is working closely with other government Departments to ensure that as we prepare to leave the EU we consider all opportunities to support developing countries and recognise the need for a smooth transition which minimises disruption to our trading relationship.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many senior civil servant posts are unfilled in his Department.
Answered by Mark Garnier - Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary (Work and Pensions)
As at January 2017 the Department for International Trade has four unfilled Senior Civil Servant posts in the Department. We will continue to expand trade policy capability and hire the brightest and best talent from within the UK civil service and from elsewhere, in order to deliver the best outcomes.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many senior civil servant posts there are in his Department.
Answered by Mark Garnier - Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary (Work and Pensions)
As at January 2017, the Department for International Trade has 94 Senior Civil Servant posts and UK Export Finance have 15 Senior Civil Servant posts within the department. These are being reviewed as the work of the Department evolves.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help improve trade with Moldova.
Answered by Greg Hands
Her Majesty’s Ambassador, and her staff, responds positively to British businesses seeking meetings to discuss the market and potential business opportunities.
The total value of UK exports to Moldova in 2015 was £109m.