Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein provide a preferential rate of 0% for cod imports from Britain. In 2020, we exported approximately £1 million (382 tons) of cod to Norway. British exporters of cod will not face tariff barriers in future trade with any of these countries.

Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein provide a preferential rate of 0% for cod imports from Britain. In 2020, we exported approximately £1 million (382 tons) of cod to Norway. British exporters of cod will not face tariff barriers in future trade with any of these countries.

The United Kingdom has a strong investment relationship with India with around 400,000 jobs supported through investments in each other’s economies. In 2019, investment from the United Kingdom in India was worth £15.3 billion, a rise of over £800 million from 2018. At a virtual summit in May between my Rt hon. Friend the Prime Minister and Prime Minister Modi of India, Britain announced her intent to negotiate a comprehensive free trade agreement with India. For British businesses investing in India’s £2 trillion economy, or Indian businesses investing across the United Kingdom, a free trade agreement could offer improved access. On 25^th May, my Department launched a consultation requesting input from consumers and businesses across all sectors that will help us craft a deal that boosts economic growth creating high-value jobs in every corner of the country.

To date, UK Export Finance (UKEF) has approved 19 applications from 18 exporters for support through the General Export Facility (GEF). UKEF is currently considering for approval a further three applications for GEF support.

The economic analysis, published on 17 June 2020, seeks to identify the potential scale of the long-term additional benefit to the UK from having a deal with Australia.

This deal is for the whole union. The Department for International Trade’s (DIT) Scoping Assessment found that Wales benefits in all modelled scenarios. Top Welsh goods exports to Australia, including medicinal and pharmaceutical products, currently face tariffs of up to 5%, and will benefit from the liberalisation of tariffs on these products. Welsh foods and drinks producers will also benefit from the removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers.

DIT is establishing a trade hub in Wales as part of a new strategy to boost exports and bring the benefits of the government’s global trade policy to the whole of the UK. Providing exporters with a direct feed into UK trade policy, to take better advantage of opportunities in fast-growing markets like the Indo-Pacific region.

The Government will not be able to grant a large-scale exemption for attendees at Defence and Security Equipment International 2021.

HM Government has no plans to review the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provision in the United Kingdom-India Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). The BIT was unilaterally terminated in 2017, following notice of termination provided by the Government of India in 2016. The BIT contains a sunset clause, under which the provisions of the treaty, including the ISDS provision, continue to apply to investments made before its termination for a further 15 years.

It is a long-standing position of HM Government not to engage in ongoing legal proceedings under bilateral investment treaties (BITs) that we are not party to. Enforcement of an award made in favour of an investor by an international arbitral tribunal is a question for the investor, based on the options available to them under international law and relevant domestic legal procedures.

Under the Global Human Rights Regulations, British businesses must comply with sanctions against the individuals and entities appearing on a regularly updated GOV.UK list. Businesses continue to be notified about sanctions and designated persons too.

On 22^nd March, HM Government took the significant step of imposing asset freezes and travel bans against four senior Chinese officials as well as the Public Security Bureau of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps responsible for the serious violations of rights and responsibilities that take place in Xinjiang.

The United Kingdom will continue to work alongside its international partners to send the clearest possible signal of the international community’s serious concern and our collective willingness to act on this issue.

The new trade deal agreed in principle with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein includes provisions for British musicians and performers, who will be able to perform in all three countries, and tour in Norway for up to 90 days every six months without a permit.

The Prime Minister has made clear that the freedom of Parliamentarians to speak out in opposition to violations of rights and responsibilities is fundamental, and that is why HM Government stands firmly with all those who have been sanctioned.

Our approach to China is rooted in our values and interests. We want a mutually beneficial trading relationship, but we will not sacrifice our values, and we have no plans to negotiate a trade deal with China.

The UK remains committed to strengthening its rich and wide-ranging trading relationship with Taiwan. Total trade in goods and services between the UK and Taiwan was £6.1 billion in 2020. The UK is working with Taiwan to deepen its relationship, including through the annual Trade Talks and associated dialogues, ministerial engagement, and through engagements by the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Taiwan.

The Government has always been clear that any free trade agreement it signs will not threaten the UK’s ability to meet its environmental commitments or its membership of international environmental agreements. The Government is seeking a deal with Australia that will further environmental and climate policy priorities and the UK will not compromise on high environmental protection.

The Government carried out a public consultation and scoping assessment for its free trade agreement negotiation with Australia, which can be found on the Government’s website (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uks-approach-to-negotiating-a-free-trade-agreement-with-australia/uk-australia-free-trade-agreement-the-uks-strategic-approach). This preliminary scoping assessment considered illustrative scenarios. Following the conclusion of negotiations, a full impact assessment will be published prior to implementation.

The UK’s intellectual property regime achieves an effective balance between rewarding creators and innovation and reflecting wider public interests. Any future trade deal negotiated by the UK will seek to be consistent with the UK’s membership of international intellectual property conventions that the UK are party to.

The Government has already carried out a public consultation on UK accession to this Agreement. The Government will publish its consultation response alongside its outline approach and economic impact assessment in advance of accession negotiations.

Engagement on the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement is taking place with all parts of the UK at all levels. Officials from the governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland receive regular updates from the negotiation team, on top of being involved in technical policy discussions.

The Department for International Trade has created engagement structures at all levels to ensure a constructive approach to working with the Devolved Administrations. These include the quarterly Ministerial Forum for Trade, regular bilateral Ministerial meetings, the six-weekly Senior Officials Group, Chief Negotiator calls running parallel to negotiation rounds, six-weekly chapter-specific policy roundtables, and regular working level engagement throughout the sprint. The programme of engagement totals hundreds of hours at official level and dozens at Ministerial level.

In the negotiations, the Government is acting on behalf of the whole UK family and the overall principle is to ensure all parts of the UK benefit from any deal - including Northern Ireland, which could benefit from tariff liberalisation on specialised machinery, for example. The Government has engaged extensively with the Devolved Administrations on all trade policy issues, including the formulation of trade negotiation positions.

The economic analysis, published on 17 June 2020, seeks to identify the potential scale of the long-term additional benefit to the UK from having a deal with Australia.

This deal is for the whole union. The Department for International Trade’s (DIT) Scoping Assessment found that Wales benefits in all modelled scenarios. Welsh foods and drinks producers will benefit from the removal of tariffs and non-tariff barriers. Any deal the Government signs with Australia will include protections for the agriculture industry and will not undercut UK farmers or compromise high standards.

DIT is establishing a trade hub in Wales as part of a new strategy to boost exports and bring the benefits of the Government’s global trade policy to the whole of the UK. Providing exporters with a direct feed into UK trade policy, to take better advantage of opportunities in fast-growing markets like the Indo-Pacific region.

Last year, my Department for International Trade successfully negotiated and brought into force the United Kingdom-Andean countries trade agreement, covering Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. Peru is a founder member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership also, and is supportive of our planned accession.

The United Kingdom recently co-chaired trade dialogues with both Colombia and Peru, in which we agreed to work together to boost trade in key sectors, such as services, digital, clean energy and agri-food. As part of our government-to-government deal with Peru, British businesses are working on a £1.7 billion reconstruction of Peruvian public services, following significant damage caused by the climate cycle El Niño in 2017.

The Government’s economic analysis, published on 17 June 2020, seeks to identify the potential scale of the long-term additional benefit to the UK from having a deal with Australia.

Yorkshire and the Humber’s top goods export to Australia, general industrial machinery, equipment and machine parts, saw an increase from 2019 to 2020. Liberalisation of tariffs on these products (currently up to 5%) and reducing other non-tariff barriers to trade should further benefit this industry, and others.

Following the conclusion of negotiations, a full impact assessment will be published prior to implementation.

An ambitious free trade deal with Australia will benefit businesses and producers across the UK – this will include greater access for UK agri-food goods to the Australian market through the removal of tariffs.

A deal with Australia is also a gateway to joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a high-standards free trade agreement of 11 Pacific nations, which will mean lower tariffs for British exports to those markets. By 2030, two-thirds of the world’s middle class will be in Asia, which is creating unheralded new export opportunities for British farming. This is where the future opportunity lies for UK farmers.

Any deal the UK signs with Australia will include protections for the agriculture industry and will not undercut UK farmers or compromise the UK’s high standards.

The UK is a world leader in professional and business services. In 2019, the UK exported £63 billion of professional and business services (PBS), with a trade surplus of £34 billion.

To support the success of this important and diverse sector, the Department for International Trade is seeking ambitious commitments in its free trade agreements (FTAs) on cross-border trade in services, investment, mobility, and digital trade, which will reduce trade barriers, and provide certainty and transparency for UK professional and business service suppliers.

The Government is also using FTAs to foster regulatory dialogue and collaboration across all PBS sectors. This can help reduce administration and costs for UK professionals and firms seeking to supply services overseas.

The Government has put a suite of enhanced scrutiny arrangements in place to allow for appropriate scrutiny by Parliament. This includes:

• publishing negotiating objectives and economic scoping assessments before starting negotiations;
• regular statements to Parliament;

At the conclusion of negotiations, there will be opportunity for scrutiny of the final deal, including time for the relevant Select Committees and the Trade and Agriculture Commission to produce their reports on the deal. Parliament can resolve against ratification of a treaty under the scrutiny processes set out under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. Any legislative changes required to give effect to the free trade agreement will need to be scrutinised and passed by Parliament in the usual way before ratification of the agreement can take place.

The UK-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which entered into force on 1 January 2021, forms the basis of an ambitious new trading partnership between the United Kingdom and South Korea.

The UK also has a Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) with South Korea, led by my Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade. This helps to develop further the positive trade and investment relationship and compliments the opportunities the FTA presents.

The Department’s economic analysis, published on 17 June 2020, seeks to identify the potential scale of the long-term additional benefit to the UK from having a deal with Australia. This analysis suggested the North West could be one of the regions expected to benefit most from a UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

Clothing is one of the North West’s top goods exports to Australia, and this increased from 2019 to 2020. Liberalisation of tariffs on clothing (currently up to 5%) and reducing other non-tariff barriers to trade should further benefit this industry.

Likewise, another of the North West’s top exports to Australia, automotives, could also benefit from the removal of tariffs (currently up to 5% on road vehicles) and other non-tariff barriers to trade.

Following the conclusion of negotiations, a full impact assessment will be published prior to implementation.

My Department has been implementing the United Kingdom-Faroe Islands Trade Agreement, which secures a trading relationship that was worth £503 million in 2020 and maintains preferential trading conditions for British businesses.

On 1 February 2021 the Government submitted its notification of intent to begin the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) accession process, of which Malaysia is a signatory. This is the first formal step towards accession that aims to deepen the United Kingdom’s access to the fast-growing markets and major economies of the future, including Malaysia.

The UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) entered into force in January 2021. The Government’s analysis shows that in the long run, the CEPA could increase UK-Japan trade by £15.7 billion compared to a situation where there was no agreement. CEPA goes beyond the EU-Japan deal, with enhancements in areas such as digital and data, financial services, food and drink, and creative industries.

In March 2021, the Department for International Trade launched a four-month trade mission to support businesses to trade with Japan. As of the 27 May 2021, 2,000 UK and Japanese companies have been involved, and over 250 UK businesses have been introduced to Japanese buyers.

The UK is Singapore’s top European trading partner and Singapore is the UK’s largest trade partner from ASEAN. The UK-Singapore bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) came into force on 1 January 2021. Since 1^st January 2021, when the FTA took effect, the Government has been engaging with UK businesses to promote its benefits and is currently focusing on its implementation. Furthermore, the UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement (DEA), whose negotiations the Government intends to launch soon, and the UK’s proposed accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), of which Singapore is a founding member, are also expected to boost bilateral trade flows.

Total trade between the United Kingdom and Ukraine was valued at £1.3 billion in 2020. HM Government is taking steps to increase the volume of trade with Ukraine, including in areas such as defence and security, agri-tech, food and drink, green technologies and aerospace, as well as through the promotion of inward investment and the resolution of market access barriers.

Bilateral trade is underpinned by the United Kingdom-Ukraine Political, Free Trade and Strategic Partnership Agreement, offering preferential trading terms for British and Ukrainian businesses, which was signed on 8^th October 2020 by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Prime Minister. On the same day, I signed a Memorandum of Understanding between ‘UK Export Finance’, Britain’s official export credit agency, and the Government of Ukraine, underlining our £2.5 billion capacity to support exports to Ukraine and agreeing areas of priority for cooperation.

The Government has completed four rounds of negotiations since the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations were launched last June. The fifth round of negotiations began on the 8^th June.

Overall, negotiations have been positive, pragmatic and productive. The Government has made good progress and is now negotiating on all areas of the FTA.

The UK and New Zealand both remain eager to make further progress, with a view to working towards an agreement in the coming months.

The United Kingdom has agreed in principle an ambitious new trade agreement with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, which goes further than any other trade agreement these countries have negotiated before with a free trade agreement partner.

For Norway and Iceland, it includes provision for companies in a British freeport to import goods, suspending the duty payable, carry out a certain minimum amount of working and processing specified by the agreement and then export to the countries that are party to the new agreement under preference. However, Liechtenstein’s goods trading relationship with the United Kingdom continues to be governed by a separate agreement that was signed on 11^th February 2019. This agreement includes prohibitions on the use of duty drawback and exemptions, similar to those with other trading partners that are signatories to the Pan-European-Mediterranean Convention. We will continue to keep such agreements under review in order to maximise benefits for all British businesses, including those operating in freeports.

The United Kingdom has agreed in principle an ambitious new trade agreement with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, which goes further than any other trade agreement these countries have negotiated before with a free trade agreement partner.

For Norway and Iceland, it includes provision for companies in a British freeport to import goods, suspending the duty payable, carry out a certain minimum amount of working and processing specified by the agreement and then export to the countries that are party to the new agreement under preference. However, Liechtenstein’s goods trading relationship with the United Kingdom continues to be governed by a separate agreement that was signed on 11^th February 2019. This agreement includes prohibitions on the use of duty drawback and exemptions, similar to those with other trading partners that are signatories to the Pan-European-Mediterranean Convention. We will continue to keep such agreements under review in order to maximise benefits for all British businesses, including those operating in freeports.

The new trade deal will replace the previous Agreement on Trade in Goods signed on 8^th December 2020 and does not include prohibitions to the use of duty drawback and exemptions.

The United Kingdom has already committed to beginning negotiations with Canada and Mexico by the end of 2021. HM Government will continue to keep all agreements under review, as we seek to improve benefits for all British businesses, including those operating in our freeports.

Last year, my Department successfully negotiated and brought into force the United Kingdom-Central America Association Agreement that maintains preferential trading conditions, providing certainty for businesses. Trade between the United Kingdom and countries party to this Agreement was worth £1.3bn in 2020.

My Department continues to work with our Central American partners to resolve market access barriers on issues such as procurement. We are sharing best regulatory practice to improve the ease of doing business and identifying opportunities for British businesses looking to enter the Central American markets.

Burnley and the wider North West economy already benefit from the higher productivity and better-quality jobs associated with international trade. According to new experimental research, 630,000 jobs in the region were estimated to be linked to exports in 2016, and Foreign Direct Investment projects created over 5,000 new jobs in 2019-20.We are confident the new Free Trade Agreements we are striking around the world will create even more opportunities for Burnley companies and that this increased trade will help level up the UK economy further.

The UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement (TCA) entered into force on 1 April. It facilitates bilateral trade worth £17.7bn in 2020. On 18 May, the Government launched a public Call for Input on how this deal might be improved for UK businesses and consumers. Later this year negotiations will begin for a new and ambitious trade deal with Canada that goes even further in key areas of mutual interest.

A UK-Australia deal will open up new opportunities for British farming. British beef and lamb are the best in the world and a deal with Australia is a first step to joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and opening up new opportunities for our agri-food exports in growing CPTPP markets across four continents. Any deal we sign with Australia will also include protections for UK agriculture and will not undercut UK farmers or compromise our high standards.

The Government’s manifesto is clear that we are firmly committed to upholding our high standards.  Having left the EU, we get to decide how we set and maintain our own animal welfare laws, standards and regulations. The Government will stand firm in trade negotiations, taking account of animal welfare considerations, to ensure any future trade deals live up to the values of farmers and consumers across the UK.

I am in close contact with Katherine Tai, the US Trade Representative. I am pleased the US has lifted tariffs on Whisky and I am working to lift Airbus Boeing dispute. We are continuing to make progress in Free Trade Agreement (FTA) discussions as well as working together on our broader trade agenda.

I am in close contact with Katherine Tai, the US Trade Representative. I am pleased the US has lifted tariffs on Whisky, and I am working to lift Airbus Boeing dispute. We are continuing to make progress in Free Trade Agreement (FTA) discussions as well as working together on our broader trade agenda.

The precise details of a free trade agreement with Australia are a matter for formal negotiations, and the Government would not seek to pre-empt these discussions.

If it is deemed that a legal mechanism is appropriate for resolving investment disputes, the mechanism will reflect modern practice, deliver fair outcomes of claims, require high ethical standards for arbitrators and include transparent proceedings.

There has never been a successful Investor State Dispute Settlement claim against the United Kingdom, nor has the threat of potential claims affected its legislation.

Tariff-free access for UK exports of electric vehicles is provided by the EU as well as 33 of 67 countries the UK has concluded agreements with, including Japan, South Korea, Switzerland and Turkey. A further 20 countries provide staged preferential tariff reductions until full liberalisation, mainly by 2023.

There are 9 countries that do not offer tariff-free access for exports, and 5 that offer partial tariff-free access. These countries are largely part of Economic Partnership Agreements which are development-focussed free trade agreements, where the UK has usually agreed to liberalise its markets to a greater extent than its developing country partners, including with Kenya and the Pacific States, and remain unchanged from access granted under the original EU agreements.

The Government has always been clear that any deals it signs will not threaten the UK’s ability to meet its environmental commitments or its membership of international environmental agreements. The Government is seeking a deal with Australia that will further environmental and climate policy priorities and the UK will not compromise on high environmental protection.

The Government carried out a public consultation and scoping assessment for its free trade agreement negotiation with Australia, which can be found on the Government’s website. This preliminary scoping assessment considered illustrative scenarios. Following the conclusion of negotiations, a full impact assessment will be published prior to implementation.

UK Export Finance (UKEF) does not invest equity or provide funding into projects. The support provided by the Department is in the form of financing, insurance or guarantees for loans.

UKEF has provided export insurance policy cover for UK exports to Belarus. As no claims have been made on those policies, UKEF has not incurred any outlay. The beneficiary of this insurance is the UK exporter, and not Belarus.