Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment he has made of the key potential economic benefits for UK (a) businesses and (b) consumers of the UK agreeing trade agreements with other countries after leaving the EU; and if he will make a statement.

As part of its preparations for future trade negotiations, the Department for International Trade (DIT) is conducting analysis of potential agreements with other countries. DIT has provided a qualitative summary of existing literature on the impacts of signing free trade agreements in the Impact Assessment accompanying the Trade Bill, available here: https://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA17-010.pdf

The Department currently provides impact assessments to Parliament when EU trade agreements are ratified. As outlined in the White Paper “Preparing for our future trade policy”, we are committed to a transparent approach to international trade, and will ensure Parliament has an appropriate role to play in the scrutiny of new UK trade treaties.