Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department has taken to facilitate trade with (a) China, (b) the US and (c) Australia after the UK leaves the EU.

The Government works actively to support trade and reduce barriers in all three countries, including through our overseas network and HM Trade Commissioners, through ministerial visits and bilateral working groups, and through the broad support this Department provides both to UK companies exporting to these countries and to those overseas companies wishing to invest in the UK. This work is intensifying as we leave the EU.

In addition, the Government is preparing for an ambitious programme of trade negotiations and enhanced market access, including potentially opening formal negotiations for new free trade agreements with the United States and Australia. We have completed 14-week long public consultations on these potential future trade agreement negotiations. We are also building stronger relationships with large economies through a series of Joint Trade Reviews. As part of the UK-China joint trade and investment review, officials of both countries took part in the third series of technical discussions in Beijing in November.