Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2018 to Question 169664 on developing countries: overseas trade, what assessment her Department has made of how many and which countries have the right resources.

The government’s focus is on securing continuity of preferential access for up to 100 developing countries as we leave the EU. We will continue to consult with country partners and a wide range of stakeholders to establish how we can deepen our trade relationships in the future.

Developing countries often face barriers to trading and DFID’s programmes help to reduce these – for example the costs of trading are often high due to a lack of infrastructure or burdensome procedures. Programmes like Trademark East Africa are working to increase trade, growth and poverty reduction by tackling these barriers. Experience shows that the greatest gains from trade can be realised by countries that combine trade policy with appropriate macroeconomic policy, strong institutions, access to finance, and other features.