Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many meetings her Department had with businesses in the manufacturing sector on the potential impact of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership on that sector; and when those meetings took place.

DBT engaged extensively with a range of stakeholders and experts through technical and strategic discussions to inform our CPTPP negotiations and ensure we were representing the views of sectors across the UK economy. DBT also continually worked with stakeholders to understand concerns and ensure that our negotiations benefited businesses and consumers across the UK. Our post-round reporting ensured stakeholders were kept up to date throughout the process. This included, but was not limited to, one-to-one meetings at a senior level and with officials, roundtables with relevant stakeholders, monthly calls on communications for business organisations, Quarterly Stakeholder Briefings, Advisory Group Up-dates, and sector-specific briefings, including with the manufacturing sector.