Department for International Trade

HM Government have serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang. We advise all businesses with Xinjiang supply chain links to conduct appropriate due diligence to satisfy themselves that their activities do not support any violations or abuses.

We have committed to introduce financial penalties for non-compliance with section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act, which asks large businesses to report on how they are tackling forced labour in their operations and supply chains. More widely we are committed to ongoing discussions on cotton and trade related matters at the WTO and continue to update Overseas Business Risk guidance.

The Department has committed to conducting and publishing a monitoring report two years after entry into force of the UK-Australia FTA, and every two years thereafter.

This will monitor the implementation of the FTA by measuring the evolution of trade flows and utilisation of the agreement. It will also discuss, where possible, the extent to which short-term changes in trade flows can be attributed to an FTA itself rather than wider factors.

The Department has also committed to publishing an evaluation report five years after entry in to force. This will analyse a broad range of impacts, including those relating to trade in services.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) is working to ensure its International Trade Service best supports DIT’s strategic objectives and HM Government’s approach to economic recovery from the pandemic. We announced a refreshed cross-government Export Strategy: Made in UK, Sold to the World on 17 November 2021 at the United Kingdom’s first International Trade Week. At its centre is our new Export Support Service (ESS), providing a single point of contact and entry for businesses exporting to Europe, helping businesses to navigate HM Government support.

In addition, DIT has initiatives such as the UK Export Academy and grants from the Internationalisation Fund which enable firms to grow internationally and build their capability to export. We have also agreed trade deals with 70 countries plus the EU, accounting for £766bn of UK bilateral trade in 2020, helping our nation become an open and truly Global Britain.

We have had five productive rounds of negotiations to date and agreed a significant proportion of legal text across multiple chapters.

In September 2021, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister and the President of the United State agreed to continue working towards a future Free Trade Agreement.

In December 2021, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade travelled to the US to bolster UK-US trade ties, support increased transatlantic trade and investment, and build on our shared interests and priorities with the US.

During my visit in December, I held productive meetings with Governors, Mayors, Commissioners, and business leaders. These stakeholders had great interest in doing more trade with the UK, including Memoranda of Understanding agreement, which we are following up.

The first CPTPP UK Accession Working Group meeting which the UK attended took place on 28^th September 2021. This was a senior official level meeting attended by Chief Negotiators, without ministerial invitation. There have been no further CPTPP UK Accession Working Group meetings to date but further technical written and oral discussions are continuing in a range of areas to ensure accession takes place smoothly.

I refer the Hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich to the answer given by my Hon. Friend, the Minister for International Trade, on 25 November, UIN: 79336.

Work continues on developing the British negotiating mandate, and we look forward to formally commencing talks this year. On 13 December 2021 HM Government of Canada notified its Parliament of intentions to begin negotiations with the UK, triggering a 90-day notification period which, we are advised, must be completed before negotiations can commence for Canada.

Ministers and officials engage regularly with stakeholders to understand the opportunities and challenges to increasing trade and investment with the region, including at a Mercosur-focused roundtable discussion with businesses chaired by my Hon. Friend the Minister for International Trade last July, and on a visit to Uruguay in September. In November, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade discussed collaboration on trade and health with Argentina's Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero. On Tuesday, the Secretary of State spoke with her Brazilian counterpart Roberto Fendt to discuss opportunities to improve our trade. The Secretary of State and I look forward to further engagement around the next UK-Brazil JETCO later this year.

We have had five productive rounds of negotiations to date and agreed a significant proportion of legal text across multiple chapters.

In September 2021, my Rt.Hon. Friend the Prime Minister and the President of the United States agreed to continue working towards a future Free Trade Agreement.

In December 2021, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade travelled to the US to bolster UK-US trade ties, support increased transatlantic trade and investment, and build on our shared interests and priorities with the US.

During my visit in December, I held productive meetings with Governors, Mayors, Commissioners, and business leaders. These stakeholders had great interest in doing more trade with the UK, including Memoranda of Understanding agreement, which we are following up.

We recently set out the potential benefits of a Free Trade Agreement with India in our published ‘Scoping Assessment’, which shows that the British economy could grow by between around £3,300 million and £6,200 million in the long run as a result of an agreement.

An ‘Impact Assessment’ has been published on the recently signed agreement with Australia too, which shows that the British economy could increase by around £2,300 million in the long run, compared to without the deal.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) has a contract with Clifford Chance LLP which can be found Here. DIT had a number of meetings with Clifford Chance LLP in order to set up this contract and has ongoing meetings to contract manage it. DIT has no financial contract with FTI Consulting and Fenchurch Advisory Partners.

Since 2015, DIT has interacted with Clifford Chance on at least 65 occasions, FTI Consulting on 97 and Fenchurch Advisory Partners twice. These interactions include meetings with officials and attendance at events.

Details of Government contracts above £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.

In addition, DIT has previously had meetings with these companies as part of our commitment to working hard to promote Financial Services Trade and Investment, and a Partner from Clifford Chance LLP is a member of one of DIT’s Trade Advisory Groups.

Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly and can be found on GOV.UK.

The UK recently signed a Free Trade Agreement with Australia on 16^th December 2021. The deal is expected to increase trade with Australia by 53% in the long run. The UK and Australia have committed to removing tariffs on a vast array of popular products which can now be more easily traded between the two countries including eliminating tariffs on 100% of UK exports. This deal is tailored to British strengths providing benefits for our world-class services industry, unprecedented new opportunities for UK professionals to work in Australia and trading digitally.

It is important that UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including those in Newport West, can trade with confidence.

HM Government has achieved and will continue to seek specific SME chapters in all our Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). These chapters ensure that SMEs are provided with the information necessary to take informed commercial decisions and benefit from the reduction in trade barriers achieved throughout our FTAs. This supports our SMEs to seize these new trade opportunities.

HM Government encourage SMEs to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by our FTAs and it will continue to ensure their needs are factored in throughout new FTAs.

Between 5 and 15 December I visited California; Atlanta, Georgia; Nashville, Tennessee, Oklahoma City and Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina.

The visit included productive meetings with Governors, Mayors and Agriculture and Economic Development Commissioners. I also met with business leaders from sectors including fintech, and agriculture. These stakeholders had great interest in doing more on trade with the UK, including Memoranda of Understanding agreements, which we are following up.

I also spoke to Members of Congress from other states including Washington State, Pennsylvania, Alabama and Missouri; building bridges for the UK at federal and state level.

The Secretary of State for International Trade has had no discussions at the World Trade Organisation on the level of international tariffs on forest risk commodities.

The Department continues to support the Government’s ongoing work to promote the sustainable trade in forest risk commodities, and is considering the role of the WTO and other fora in this effort.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) is developing ambitious plans to support exports and investment in the Maritime sector as part of the upcoming National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh. We will be able to provide more detail on these plans following publication of the Refresh. DIT is committed to the maritime sector and works closely with it on a wide range of export issues and opportunities.

The refreshed Export Strategy launched last November focuses on the barriers faced by UK businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), by helping them at every stage of exporting, as part of our UK-wide Export Support Service (ESS).

We are establishing a trade and investment hub in Belfast this year to bring more investment, jobs and export opportunities into Northern Ireland. The team will be improving access to DIT services for Northern Ireland businesses.

In addition to negotiating free trade agreements with SME chapters, our work on market access includes removing non-tariff barriers – last year we resolved 200 of such barriers across 74 countries.

A summary of responses to the consultation and the Department’s response was published on 13 January 2022. This was part of a broader suite of documents on the UK-India Free Trade Agreement, including an economic scoping assessment.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade made a Written Ministerial Statement on the 13th of January about the launch of negotiations. Once the provisions of the agreement have been negotiated, HM Government will publish a full impact assessment reflecting the outcome.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade has never used the VIP suites at Heathrow Airport. Her predecessor also did not use them during her time as Secretary of State for International Trade.

Following the conclusion of negotiations, a full impact assessment will be published. This will present estimated economic impacts of the agreement, including impacts on UK sectoral output and employment and the potential implications for the UK nations and English regions. This Government is committed to transparency, and we will ensure that parliamentarians have access to the information they need on the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) through our robust scrutiny process.

The Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy Programme has 34 Trade Envoys, covering 72 markets, who support the UK Government’s overall strategy to drive economic growth, promote UK trade and encourage inward investment, helping to level up the country. When undertaking their role they meet numerous people, including key government contacts, stakeholders and businesses and undertake to make two visits to their respective market(s) per year, although this varies depending on the market and the commercial opportunities being pursued. A summary of their activity will be published in the Department's annual report.

Parliament has a statutory scrutiny role for treaties (including Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)), under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRaG) 2010.

Parliament will also be required to approve any primary and secondary legislation needed to implement the UK-Australia FTA. As per the draft explanatory memorandum for the agreement the need for primary legislation has been identified in order to implement the Procurement Chapter of the Treaty. Secondary legislation will be required for provisions of the Intellectual Property chapter. The Government will also implement changes to tariffs under the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018.

Details of Government contracts above £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search. DIT’s consultancy contracts can be found on here which include the maximum value of the contract and the services provided.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) interprets ‘Temporarily employed’ staff for the purposes of this response to be those working on DIT objectives under Contingent Labour arrangements. This response does not cover staff on loan from Other Government Departments working on DIT objectives, secondees, Fast Stream employees, Interns, or Fixed Term Appointees.

A total of 217 staff were employed under Contingent Labour arrangements, of which 19 worked within U.K. Export Finance and 198 within the DIT Ministerial department as of June 2021.

Of the above, there are 0 Senior Civil Servants currently employed under Contingent Labour arrangements across both U.K. Export Finance and DIT.

My Hon. Friend for Bournemouth West was appointed as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Canada on 23rd August 2021. His term ended on 16th September 2021, when he was appointed as Minister of State to Northern Ireland. Due to only having spent a short time as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy for Canada, there was insufficient time for a visit to Canada or external meetings.

Food and drink manufacturers are supported through the breadth of the Department for International Trade’s (DIT) services, including the Export Support Service, the digital GREAT.gov.uk platform, the Export Academy and UK Export Finance. DIT has a team in the UK dedicated to supporting the food and drink sector. Resource levels are kept under regular review to ensure we can meet demand as interest and opportunities grow in new markets.

DIT also has more than 100 staff overseas, either on a full or part time basis, who are specifically supporting businesses in the agriculture, food, and drink sector. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and DIT recently announced that eight new specialist agricultural attachés would be placed in priority markets to tackle trade barriers, building on existing roles in China and the United Arab Emirates.

We recognise the importance of the involvement and monitoring of labour-related issues by UK stakeholders on this agreement.

That is why this deal establishes a committee for cooperation, and UK stakeholders will have the opportunity for consultation and active engagement. The provisions agreed allow for businesses and other labour organisations to support the effective implementation of the agreement. We are currently considering options for how this can be best achieved.

We did not receive representations from human rights organisations; however, officials are meeting with representatives of non-governmental organisations to discuss the revised Criteria on 18 January.

On the revised Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, no impact assessment was carried out as we do not expect the changes to have a significant impact on the level of arms exports.

An impact assessment was carried out on the proposed changes to the Military End-Use Control. The assessment concluded the changes would have a minimal impact on legitimate trade while allowing the Government to prevent exports of otherwise non-controlled items that pose threats to national security, international peace and security, and human rights in embargoed destinations.

My Rt. Hon. Friends, the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and the Secretary of State for Defence, were fully involved in the preparation of the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. The revised Criteria were agreed by all three Secretaries of State.

We do not expect the revised Strategic Export Licensing Criteria to have a significant impact on the level of arms exports to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Risks in relation to human rights and international humanitarian law remain key parts of our assessment.

The Department for International Trade does not produce or hold data on how much funding the UK has invested in Kazakhstan’s energy sector. However, data on UK investment is published by the Office for National Statistics, and can be accessed via the Department for International Trade and Investment Factsheets: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/trade-and-investment-factsheets

Securing a deal with the US on their Section 232 tariffs is a priority. Both the steel and aluminium industries are important pillars of our economy.

The US-EU deal has only just come into effect, but we are working closely with industry to understand the possible impacts and prepare for our own resolution with the US. The Secretary of State stands ready to take the necessary action to minimise the impact of a US deal with the EU on UK industry. This includes responding to the department’s consultation on the UK’s rebalancing measures.

When preparing the written statement of 8 December, HCWS449 which introduced the current Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, there were no advance formal or informal consultations with industry or representatives of industry.

The revised Criteria announced in the Written Statement of 8 December 2021, HCWS449, reflect the UK’s policy considerations and take into account a full range of factors including our international legal obligations including the Arms Trade Treaty.

HM Government is satisfied that the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria provides a thorough risk assessment framework for assessing all export licence applications. With regard to internal repression and the commission of violations of international humanitarian law, the key tests are Criterion 2a and Criterion 2c. These criteria have not substantially changed; indeed they have been made stronger by the addition of “facilitation” within their scope.

The Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) includes various instruments to protect British agricultural interests. Quotas on products such as beef set a maximum level for tariff-free imports for up to 10 years. Product specific safeguards for beef and lamb allow the UK to impose higher tariffs when imports exceed a certain threshold in years 10 to 15. On lamb, quota and safeguard volumes can be periodically reduced by 25% when fill rates are high. Additionally, a general bilateral safeguard mechanism allows for the temporary withdrawal of tariff preferences which will protect industry.

Our support for exporters is underpinning jobs and economic growth in the agriculture sector at this critical time. In November we launched a refreshed Export Strategy. The strategy is focused on tackling trade barriers, opening new markets, providing the services exporters need to compete in global markets and helping businesses maximise the opportunities generated by new free trade agreements. We support businesses through all stages of their export journey to Australia and other markets, including through our GREAT.gov.uk platform, our Export Academy, our new Export Support Service. We have dedicated agriculture, food and drink trade advisers in the UK and overseas in markets such as Australia to support businesses in taking up these services.

The Department for International Trade was established in July 2016. The total floor area for the Department’s estate since inception was as follows:

During the first two financial years, our estate was partially owned by another Department while transfers where formalised.

The Department subsequently transferred ownership of its property assets to the Government Property Agency (GPA) from September 2019. The GPA will report the space separately for 2019/20 onwards in the Cabinet Office response.

Officials and Ministers are in regular contact with their Israeli counterparts on our existing bilateral free trade agreement and ambitions for our future relationship. On Wednesday 24^th November 2021, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade met the Israeli Ambassador and discussed ways in which we can enhance our existing trade relationship over time.

The Government will open a Call for Input on an enhanced bilateral free trade agreement with Israel early this year.

The removal of additional US tariffs on steel and aluminium is a key priority for the Government. The Secretary of State has been pushing for a speedy resolution to the Section 232 tariffs issue and during her December visit to the US she spoke to both the US Trade Representative Katherine Tai as well as the Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo about it. We are engaging with the US Administration regularly on this issue and continue to push for the start of negotiations and the removal of Section 232 tariffs as soon as possible.

I refer the Hon. Member for Harrow West to the answer given by my Hon. Friend, the Minister for Exports, to the Hon. Member for Preston on 17 December, UIN: 90349.

The G7 Trade Ministers’ communique of 22^nd October notes our determination to achieve an impactful outcome on trade and health, including how the international IP framework can best support the WTO’s pandemic response.

Our bilateral trade relationship with Israel is already strong at almost £5 billion per year. Total trade between the UK and Israel has grown over the last five years from £3.5 billion in 2015 to £4.8 billion in 2020.

Officials and Ministers are in regular contact with their Israeli counterparts on our existing bilateral free trade agreement and ambitions for our future relationship. The Government will open a Call for Input on an enhanced bilateral free trade agreement with Israel early this year.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) employees working overseas are often stationed at a central base, such as a High Commission, but operate across India. DIT has several overseas bases within India as part of the British overseas network, such as Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, New Delhi, Chandigrah and Kolkata. Total workforce numbers have been provided to protect anonymity of individuals working at some of these locations:

Please note: The headcount figures include overseas UK based staff, country-based staff and country-based staff interns (there are no country-based staff interns in India).

These figures do not include UKEF staff, those on loan from Other Government Departments who remain on their home departments payroll, contractors, military staff, people on secondment from other organisations, those who are on loan or secondment out of DIT, or on unpaid special leave or career break.

Between 1^st October 2021, the date Export Support Service was launched, and Friday 17^th December 2021, the Department has incurred costs of £113,705 excluding VAT on Export Support Service advertising to businesses across the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Government has signed Trade, Partnership and Cooperation Agreements with Serbia, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania, supporting jobs and economic growth, allowing us to build on our trade and investment relationships. UK Export Finance is also an important part of our offer to the region, providing competitive financing for large infrastructure projects.

With Bosnia and Herzegovina, we are working to secure a Partnership, Trade and Cooperation Agreement that will ensure preferential terms of trade between the UK and Bosnia and Herzegovina and promote stability and prosperity in the region. We are keen to conclude this as soon as possible.