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, what discussions she has had with her counterpart in the Republic of the Maldives on strengthening trade ties with that country; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
The Maldives is a valued member of the Commonwealth and an important partner for the United Kingdom. HM Government is keen to cooperate with the Maldivian Government on trade opportunities that benefit people and businesses in both our countries.
As the EU did not have any trade agreement with the Maldives, they could not be included in the United Kingdom’s trade continuity programme. Accordingly, whilst Maldivian access to the British market remains as it was prior to 1st January 2021, we will continue explore pragmatic options to enhance bilateral trade relations in areas of mutual interest, such as fishing.
HM Government and the Maldives are contracting parties to the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, where the United Kingdom is continuing to seek adoption of new measures for the protection of tuna stocks in the Indian Ocean. The United Kingdom’s strength in financial services means she is well placed to support the Maldives secure any necessary capital for sustainable development.
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, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of an Economic Partnership Agreement with the Republic of the Maldives; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
The Maldives is a valued member of the Commonwealth and an important partner for the United Kingdom. HM Government is keen to cooperate with the Maldivian Government on trade opportunities that benefit people and businesses in both our countries.
As the EU did not have any trade agreement with the Maldives, they could not be included in the United Kingdom’s trade continuity programme. Accordingly, whilst Maldivian access to the British market remains as it was prior to 1st January 2021, we will continue explore pragmatic options to enhance bilateral trade relations in areas of mutual interest, such as fishing.
HM Government and the Maldives are contracting parties to the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, where the United Kingdom is continuing to seek adoption of new measures for the protection of tuna stocks in the Indian Ocean. The United Kingdom’s strength in financial services means she is well placed to support the Maldives secure any necessary capital for sustainable development.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Department for International Trade regarding the potential merits to the UK’s commitment on sustainable fishing of an Economic Partnership Agreement with the Republic of the Maldives; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Defra and DIT officials work closely together on trade negotiations. The Republic of the Maldives did not have a trade agreement (a Free Trade Agreement or a development-focused Economic Partnership Agreement), with the EU, and therefore, the UK could not include the Maldives as part of its continuity programme. We currently trade on World Trade Organisation terms with the Maldives.
The UK Government is strongly committed to tackling unsustainable fishing and would welcome the opportunity to continue its engagement with the Maldives through the London Stock Exchange Group on raising green and blue bonds and financing options to fund sustainable projects.
Additionally, both the UK and the Maldives are contracting parties to the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, where the UK is continuing to seek adoption of new measures for the protection of tuna stocks in the Indian Ocean.
Asked by: Lord Borwick (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 21 December 2021 (HL4995), what was the total amount of import tariffs collected on tuna imported from the Maldives in (1) financial year 2020–21, and (2) each of the preceding four years.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
HMRC does not hold the information requested. Traders pay customs duty and import VAT based on calculated liabilities for goods, either immediately or on a monthly basis via duty deferment accounts. The subsequent revenue collected is not recorded on a product or sector basis, and thus no breakdown by product or country of origin is held.
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 16052 on GREAT: Commonwealth, aside from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore, which of the 47 other Commonwealth nations 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: 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 16052, aside from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore, which of the 47 other Commonwealth nations 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: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2012 to Question 25763 on the British Indian Ocean Territory, what the reason and justification is for his policy of ceding the British Indian Ocean Territory to a country (a) without a historic governance relationship and (b) that is not the closest geographical option for governance; and what recent assessment he has made of the options for ceding the British Indian Ocean Territory including (a) not ceding, (b) ceding to Mauritius and (c) ceding to the Maldives.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The United Kingdom has no doubt about its sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), which has been under continuous British sovereignty since 1814. Mauritius has never held sovereignty over the territory and we do not recognise its claim. However, the United Kingdom has a long-standing commitment, first made in 1965, to cede sovereignty of BIOT to Mauritius when it is no longer required for defence purposes. We stand by that commitment, which has been found to be legally binding. Thus no recent assessment has been made of other options for ceding the territory.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which maritime boundary or rights disputes the UK and its Overseas Territories have engaged in directly or indirectly in the last five years; and what the status is of each of those disputes.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We are not aware of any maritime boundary or rights disputes the UK or its Overseas Territories have engaged directly or indirectly in the last five years aside from the UK’s commitment to working with Mauritius to explore all aspects of its interests in relation to the British Indian Ocean Territory’s (BIOT) Marine Protected Area (MPA) and implementation of the 2015 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Arbitral Award. The Government is aware of the judgment of 28 January by the Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) formed to deal with a dispute concerning delimitation of a maritime boundary claimed by Mauritius to exist between Mauritius and Maldives in the Indian Ocean. The UK is not a party to these proceedings, which can have no effect for the UK or for maritime delimitation between the United Kingdom (in respect of BIOT) and the Republic of the Maldives.