Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the intra-country trade in the EU that originates in developing Commonwealth countries and first enters the EU via the UK.

The UK's total trade with developing Commonwealth countries (imports and exports of goods and services with countries that receive preferential access through the Generalised Scheme of Preferences, Economic Partnership Agreements or the Market Access Regulation) was over £42 billion in 2015. This statistic measures trade on a balance of payments basis but we are aware that goods and services from developing Commonwealth countries can constitute intermediate inputs into items traded within the EU. This is why we are working with developing country partners to replicate the effects of existing trade arrangements as we leave the EU.