Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how businesses and organisations in Northern Ireland can get involved with the proposed Northern Ireland trade and investment conference.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston
In Autumn Statement 2022, the Chancellor announced a fund of up to £2 million for the then Department for International Trade, now the Department for Business and Trade, to: “work with local partners including Invest Northern Ireland to host a trade and investment event in Northern Ireland in 2023.”
The Department is working closely with partners at pace to define the event and will deliver the event in collaboration with Invest Northern Ireland. We will shortly engage a range of businesses and organisations across Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government who will receive the £2 million announced in the Autumn Statement for a trade and investment conference in Northern Ireland; and what organisation will be responsible for organising and hosting the conference.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston
In Autumn Statement 2022, the Chancellor announced a fund of up to £2 million for the then Department for International Trade, now the Department for Business and Trade, to: “work with local partners including Invest Northern Ireland to host a trade and investment event in Northern Ireland in 2023.”
The Department is working closely with partners at pace to define the event and will deliver the event in collaboration with Invest Northern Ireland. We will shortly engage a range of businesses and organisations across Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in planning for the proposed trade and investment conference due to be held in Northern Ireland in 2023.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston
In Autumn Statement 2022, the Chancellor announced a fund of up to £2 million for the then Department for International Trade, now the Department for Business and Trade, to: “work with local partners including Invest Northern Ireland to host a trade and investment event in Northern Ireland in 2023.”
The Department is working closely with partners at pace to define the event and will deliver the event in collaboration with Invest Northern Ireland. We will shortly engage a range of businesses and organisations across Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the (1) roles, and (2) expectations, of the Prime Minister's trade envoys.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston
Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys are appointed to a wide spectrum of countries where they are able to make a significant contribution to the Government’s trade and investment objectives.
They champion Global Britain and promote the UK as a destination of choice for inward investment across all regions of the UK, helping to level up the country by supplementing the UK’s existing trade relations in their respective markets, working with our regional Trade Commissioners and global network to promote British business across the globe.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what countries of strategic trade interest to the UK do not have a Prime Minister's trade envoy appointed to them; and what are the reasons in each case.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston
Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys are appointed to a wide spectrum of countries where they are able to make a significant contribution to the government’s trade and investment objectives and the ultimate decision is the Prime Minister’s. The government tailors our business and investor support in different countries depending on market conditions and opportunities. We are regularly reviewing countries and markets to identify where the appointment of a Trade Envoy can be of greatest benefit.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many (a) fossil fuel-, (b) electric- and (c) hybrid-powered road-legal vehicles their Department purchased in the last 24 months.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
The Department has not purchased any road legal vehicles in the past 24 months. It uses the Government Car Service for vehicle provision. Cars provided to Departments by the Government Car Service will be included in the return for the Department for Transport.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps she has taken to include the mutual recognition of pharmaceutical products in trade agreement negotiations.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
The UK has secured a number of Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) on Good Manufacturing Practices for pharmaceutical products in recent years. They comprise standalone MRAs with the US, Australia and New Zealand, with similar commitments contained in our Free Trade Agreements with Japan, Switzerland, Israel and Canada. New Free Trade Agreement negotiations are ongoing with Israel and Canada.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many meetings her (a) Ministers and (b) officials had with car manufacturers on the memorandum of understanding between the UK and South Carolina before the signing of that agreement.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
Government officials and Ministers regularly engage with the automotive industry to support the growth of British businesses and address market access barriers.
UK sector experts in the US engaged regularly with industry representatives in the formulation of the UK-South Carolina Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Trade officials further engaged the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and other industry representatives through the Department’s established Trade Advisory Groups. The UK will continue to engage industry in the delivery of this MOU in 2023.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department has had discussions with representatives of the state government of (a) Alabama, (b) Mississippi and (c) Arkansas on securing memorandums of understanding on trade in the last two years.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
We regularly engage states through our network of consulates on how we can enhance our strong, existing trade relationships. My predecessor also met with the Governor of Arkansas in April last year to discuss how we could boost trade further.
We welcome continued interest from states in strengthening trade ties and will continue to focus on how best we can work together to deliver the greatest impact for business.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department will take to align the UK to the principles of the Coalition of Trade Ministers on Climate.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
The UK is committed to ensure trade supports long-term climate action, in line with the Coalition of Trade Ministers’ principles of leadership, transparency, inclusivity and cooperation.
The Secretary of State attended the launch of this at the World Economic Forum in Davos this January and we continue to advocate for collective action at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other multilateral fora. For example, the UK has been a leading voice on the proposed G7-led ‘Climate Club’ – aiming to make it as inclusive as possible. Meanwhile, we are supporting the Net Zero transition through our Clean Growth export programme, foreign direct investment, UK Export Finance, and through overseas aid.