Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of global trade slowdown on emerging economies; and what steps they are taking to reduce barriers to supply chains between the UK and emerging economies post-Brexit.

The IMF and OECD have recently revised down their projections for global trade growth in 2019. The latest OECD Economic Outlook, published on 21 May, states that ‘weak global trade… continue[s] to impede growth in many [emerging-market] countries’.

Well-functioning global trade relationships are vital for the global economy and for ensuring UK businesses can manage their supply chains effectively.

In addition to working with countries to explore the best ways to develop our trade and investment relationships, we are putting resource behind our efforts to tackle market access barriers. We are establishing a new approach that brings together the efforts of all of the government and new regional HM Trade Commissioners who will help to resolve market access barriers across the globe.