Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government is taking to increase UK trade with Mexico.

Increasing exports is a key focus in the Government’s long-term economic plan. There is a cross Whitehall approach to exports and whenever Government Ministers are on overseas trips, they have a trade focus, supporting UK businesses to take advantage of export opportunities, to help remove barriers to trade and to create a strong business environment.

A key part of this work is to identify export opportunities, many of which are based around the needs of high-growth and emerging markets. We are making those opportunities available to UK businesses through the Exporting is GREAT campaign which has elicited over 25,000 responses to the 7,000 export opportunities published online since it launched in November 2015.

Mexico is an important export market with high potential for growth and, in recognition of this, my noble Friend Lord Price went there on his first overseas visit as Trade and Investment Minister in early April 2016. Mexico is also the recipient of increased FCO Prosperity and Newton Fund budgets. In July, High Level Economic Talks will take place in Mexico.