Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether his Department has set performance targets for the increase in bilateral trade between Canada and the UK through a comprehensive free trade agreement after the UK leaves the EU.

Once the UK has left the EU, we will have the opportunity to consider how we may strengthen the UK-Canada trading relationship. We do not currently have performance targets linked to how that might be achieved through a new comprehensive free trade agreement, since our priority remains working with Canada and businesses to seek as smooth a transition of the existing trading relationship as possible as we leave the EU. This includes the transition of CETA into a UK-Canada agreement. My Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade gave an update on the status of these discussions at the International Trade Committee on 3 July.