Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2021 to Question 175773, if she will publish the list of 39 UK products among the 77 provided to the Japanese authorities on 30 April 2021 that are not currently going through Japan's procedures for the designation of geographical indications; and what estimate she has made of when those 39 products will start going through those procedures.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement already protects 7 UK geographical indications (GIs) in Japan, and provides scope to submit more for approval.
On 30 April 2021, the UK submitted a list of 77 UK GIs to Japan. There were 84 GIs registered in the UK at the time. A full list of UK GIs registered domestically is available here: https://www.gov.uk/protected-food-drink-names.
We agreed with Japan that all 77 GIs will undergo procedures in Japan as soon as possible. Due to the large number of GIs, Japan requested they be split into two batches to facilitate the necessary domestic procedures in Japan.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the answer of 29 April 2021 to Question 175773, who was responsible for deciding which 38 UK products among the 77 provided to the Japanese authorities on 30 April 2021 should go through Japan's procedures for the designation of geographical indications during the first tranche; and how those decisions were made.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
On 30 April 2021 the UK shared a list of 77 UK geographical indications (GIs) with Japan. Due to the large number of GIs, Japan requested they be split into two batches to facilitate the necessary domestic procedures in Japan. All 77 GIs will undergo procedures in Japan.
The 38 GIs were selected following consultations with Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and a range of stakeholders. The selection took into consideration the views of devolved administrations, potential economic value, current export value, judgements on the potential for misuse and the geographic spread of products across the UK.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many Ministers in her Department have visited Shropshire in the last 12 months to discuss the impact of trade agreements, including on local farming communities.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
We have secured trade agreements with 70 countries, plus the EU, covering trade worth £766 billion last year, delivering benefits for communities across the country. An impact assessment is published when the text of a new free trade agreement is laid in Parliament, which presents the economic benefits of the deal. For example, compared to the United Kingdom not having an agreement with Japan, output in the West Midlands is expected to be £56 million higher in the long run (in 2017 terms).
Our trade agreements unlock new opportunities for our agriculture, food and drink sector and we will continue to work with producers and suppliers to make sure the sector is represented in future free trade agreements. In addition, the independent Trade and Agriculture Commission will scrutinise new free trade agreements once they are signed, providing an additional layer of independent scrutiny.
Ministers regularly visit farmers across Britain to discuss the opportunities presented by free trade agreements and the export support that the Department for International Trade can provide. For instance, the then Secretary of State for International Trade visited Shropshire in July. We continue to support farming and food businesses to seize global export opportunities through our Export Support Service, our online digital platform at GREAT.GOV.UK, and through our people dedicated to agriculture, food and drink across the United Kingdom and our global network.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the Government has carried out an impact assessment on the potential effect of free trade agreements with (a) Australia and (b) New Zealand on the UK farming sector, by region.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
We have secured trade agreements with 70 countries, plus the EU, covering trade worth £766 billion last year, delivering benefits for communities across the country. An impact assessment is published when the text of a new free trade agreement is laid in Parliament, which presents the economic benefits of the deal. For example, compared to the United Kingdom not having an agreement with Japan, output in the West Midlands is expected to be £56 million higher in the long run (in 2017 terms).
Our trade agreements unlock new opportunities for our agriculture, food and drink sector and we will continue to work with producers and suppliers to make sure the sector is represented in future free trade agreements. In addition, the independent Trade and Agriculture Commission will scrutinise new free trade agreements once they are signed, providing an additional layer of independent scrutiny.
Ministers regularly visit farmers across Britain to discuss the opportunities presented by free trade agreements and the export support that the Department for International Trade can provide. For instance, the then Secretary of State for International Trade visited Shropshire in July. We continue to support farming and food businesses to seize global export opportunities through our Export Support Service, our online digital platform at GREAT.GOV.UK, and through our people dedicated to agriculture, food and drink across the United Kingdom and our global network.
Asked by: Chris Loder (Conservative - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the effect on Dorset of free trade agreements signed by the UK since leaving the EU.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
We have secured trade agreements with 70 countries, plus the EU, covering trade worth £766 billion last year, delivering benefits for communities across the country.
An impact assessment is published when the text of a new free trade agreement is laid in Parliament, which presents the economic benefits of the deal. For example, compared to the United Kingdom not having an agreement with Japan, output in the South West of England is expected to be £90 million higher in the long run (in 2017 terms).
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate she has made of the effect on long-term trends in imports of UK legal services in (a) cash and (b) percentage terms of the (i) free trade agreement with (A) Australia, (B) New Zealand and (C) Japan and (ii) UK's accession to the CPTPP.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Legal services are crucial to the UK economy, contributing £29.2 billion (1.6%) to the UK’s gross value added (GVA) in 2020. The published assessments for these agreements assess the potential long-term impact on GVA for all business services, however they do not include a breakdown of the potential impact on legal services imports.
To support UK success in this sector, the Department for International Trade is seeking ambitious commitments in its Free Trade Agreements on cross-border trade in services, investment, mobility, and digital trade. This will reduce trade barriers, providing certainty and transparency for UK businesses, including legal services suppliers.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2021 to Question 16051, aside from Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, which of the 60 other non-EU countries with which the UK has signed continuity trade agreements are not among the 145 countries where GREAT campaign activity has taken place.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The GREAT campaign is designed to be used in every country around the world, but to date there are a small number of countries where there has either not been sufficient HMG presence or opportunity to use the campaign. No country is out of scope for its use. The countries that have not yet used the campaign are:
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Belize
Dominica
Faroe Islands
Grenada
Kiribati
Liechtenstein
Maldives
Nauru
Nicaragua
Palestinian Authority
Papua New Guinea
St. Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Sierra Leone
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2021 to Question 16051, aside from Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, which of the 60 other non-EU countries with which the UK has signed continuity trade agreements are not among the 145 countries where GREAT campaign activity has taken place.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The GREAT campaign is designed to be used in every country around the world, but to date there are a small number of countries where there has either not been sufficient HMG presence or opportunity to use the campaign. No country is out of scope for its use. The countries that have not yet used the campaign are:
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Belize
Dominica
Faroe Islands
Grenada
Kiribati
Liechtenstein
Maldives
Nauru
Nicaragua
Palestinian Authority
Papua New Guinea
St. Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Sierra Leone
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
What recent assessment she has made of the potential effect of her Department’s trade policies on growth for British businesses.
Answered by Graham Stuart
We have set out the potential impacts of Free Trade Agreements in our published Scoping Assessments for the US, Australia, New Zealand and CPTPP. An Impact Assessment has also been published on the recently signed agreement with Japan, which shows that it goes beyond the existing EU deal, providing a long-run boost to the UK economy of around £1.5bn, compared to a situation without the deal. Output in the North West and Wales could increase by £64 million and £34 million respectively.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
What recent assessment she has made of the potential effect of her Department’s trade policies on growth for British businesses.
Answered by Graham Stuart
We have set out the potential impacts of Free Trade Agreements in our published Scoping Assessments for the US, Australia, New Zealand and CPTPP. An Impact Assessment has also been published on the recently signed agreement with Japan, which shows that it goes beyond the existing EU deal, providing a long-run boost to the UK economy of around £1.5bn, compared to a situation without the deal. Output in the North West and Wales could increase by £64 million and £34 million respectively.