Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the CARIFORUM-UK Economic Partnership Agreement, what steps he is taken to increase trade links with those countries.

The UK signed the CARIFORUM-UK Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) on Friday 22 March 2019 with nine CARIFORUM states. The remaining 4 states will sign as their domestic processes allow. This will provide continuity in our trading arrangements after the UK leaves the EU.

The UK is currently designing a package of funding to help businesses in the Caribbean to take full advantage of the market access granted by the EPA, recognising that even in the absence of tariffs, a number of barriers remain which may prevent firms from being able to export to the UK.