Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the International Business Advisory Council's statement that implementing the World Trade Organisation’s trade facilitation agreement should be a priority for governments.

The Government strongly supports the World |trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Trade Facilitation and encourages other WTO Members to ratify so that the agreement can enter into force as soon as possible.

Implementation of the Agreement will reduce the costs of cross-border trade, benefitting consumers and business alike. Once implemented, studies suggest the Agreement will add over £70 billion to the global economy. Of this, we expect a benefit to the UK of up to £1bn.