Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many meetings her (a) Ministers and (b) officials had with car manufacturers on the memorandum of understanding between the UK and South Carolina before the signing of that agreement.

Government officials and Ministers regularly engage with the automotive industry to support the growth of British businesses and address market access barriers.

UK sector experts in the US engaged regularly with industry representatives in the formulation of the UK-South Carolina Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Trade officials further engaged the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and other industry representatives through the Department’s established Trade Advisory Groups. The UK will continue to engage industry in the delivery of this MOU in 2023.