Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she plans to review the terms of the UK-Israel trade and partnership agreement.

The Department for Business and Trade are negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with Israel to update the current partnership agreement. The existing agreement guarantees tariff free trade on 99% of goods by value but contains no provisions to facilitate trade in services.

Services comprise around 80% of both the UK and Israel’s economies but they only make up about 44% of total trade between us (in the 12 months ending September 2023). The trading relationship between the UK and Israel is valued at £6.4 billion (as of September 2023) and there is significant room for growth – given the UK is the world’s second largest exporter of services. An upgraded trade deal will play to British strengths and unlock trade for our world-leading services and digital sectors.