Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UK's re-export of goods from Xinjiang that are made with Uyghur forced labour to Europe and North America.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
No UK business should be complicit in forced labour. Under Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, businesses who operate in the UK and have a turnover of £36m or more are required to report annually on the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their supply chains.
This Government will stand firm on human rights in China, including the repression of people in Xinjiang and will continue to hold China to account. The Government continues to review how we can best tackle forced labour in supply chains and continues to consider measures that would improve supply chain transparency and traceability.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support Taiwan’s application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and to encourage other member states to endorse its bid; and whether they are seeking to expedite Taiwan’s CPTPP application and to ensure that it is considered independently of, or prior to, the application of China.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Discussion among CPTPP Members is progressing on how to take forward accession applications. The UK and other CPTPP members have reaffirmed on several instances that the CPTPP is open to Accession Requests by economies that can satisfy the “Auckland Principles”, namely being able to meet the agreement’s high standards, having a track record of compliance with trade commitments, and commanding consensus of the Parties. It is right that we work within the principles of the group to achieve a consensus decision, rather than providing our own individual narrative on the applications of specific economies.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support UK firms participating in renewable energy projects in Taiwan to enhance energy resilience in that country.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
In November 2023, the British Representative in Taipei and the Taipei Representative in the UK signed an Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) Arrangement setting out the UK and Taiwan’s priorities for the future cooperation, including an energy and net zero pillar. The Government regularly promotes international business opportunities to UK firms and has previously supported business delegations to Taiwan. UK Export Finance, the Government’s credit agency, has also provided over £900million of financing to Taiwanese offshore wind projects, supporting Taiwan’s energy transition and UK businesses.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure continued support for military and dual-use technology exports to Taiwan, including through the maintenance of existing export licences.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK operates one of the most transparent export licensing systems in the world. There is a long record of the UK granting licences for exports of controlled goods to Taiwan, on a case-by-case basis, where those applications are consistent with the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria.
The Department for Business and Trade provides advice and support to prospective exporters of controlled goods where there is a reasonable expectation of securing licenses, but the support will vary with an individual case’s circumstances.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made any assessment of (1) the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act of 2021 from the United States, or (2) the European Union’s proposed ban on goods made by slave labour, in shaping their trade policies, especially with regard to ethics, diversification and resilience.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This Government is clear that no company in the UK should have forced labour in its supply chain. The Department for Business and Trade will work with international partners to understand the impact of measures to combat forced labour.
There are a wide range of priorities the Department need to consider within our trade strategy. The Department's trade strategy will be growth-based, and aligned with its industrial strategy, as well as wider foreign-policy and economic security objectives.
It is important that the Department take a strategic approach to trade policy development that considers how its economic objectives can be achieved through the use of trade levers while being aligned with its values and our geo-strategic positioning.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reports from Sheffield Hallam University In Broad Daylight: Uyghur Forced Labour and Global Solar Supply Chains and Over-Exposed: Uyghur Region Exposure Assessment for Solar Industry Sourcing in framing their trade policies.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
No company in the UK should have forced labour in its supply chain. The Department for Business and Trade will be working with colleagues across Government to tackle forced labour in supply chains, including polysilicon used in the manufacture of solar panels.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is relaunching the Solar Taskforce, which will focus on identifying and developing supply chains that are resilient, sustainable and free from forced labour.
The Government's Overseas Business Risk guidance makes clear to UK companies the risks of operating in certain regions and urges them to conduct appropriate due diligence when making business decisions.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to adapt the process under section 20 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 for when third-party states accede to plurilateral trade agreements after UK implementing legislation has been passed.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston
The Government currently has no plans to make changes to the process under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (CRAG). Where a third-party state’s accession to a plurilateral trade agreement would require the UK to ratify a treaty in accordance with terms of CRAG, that process will apply.
It is Government policy that ratification of an agreement should only take place once necessary domestic legislation is in place.
As the Government pursues its ambitious trade agenda, we will continue to ensure arrangements remain fit for purpose.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the most recent visit by Lord Johnson of Lainston to the People’s Republic of China, who he met; what he discussed; what response he received to any representations he may have made on the government of China's treatment of the Uyghur minority, threats to Taiwan, and imprisonment of pro-democracy advocates and lawmakers in Hong Kong, including the British citizen Jimmy Lai.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston
In China, I met businesses and investors. Whilst attending the China International Fair for Trade in Services, I was briefly introduced to the Minister of Commerce and the Party Secretary of Beijing. I expressed support for our trade and investment relationship, where it is consistent with our values and national security.
On 30 August, The Foreign Secretary visited China meeting senior government figures. He emphasised the UK's position on the mass incarceration of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang, the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and raised rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, including the case of Jimmy Lai.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the export control criteria used by the UK Trade and Investment Office following reports that it approved a partnership between the University of Cambridge and a subsidiary of a Chinese state-owned military technology company that does an estimated 60 per cent of its business with the Chinese military, which reportedly involved the appointment of a former Chinese Communist Party politician to the university's partnership programme.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) is responsible for licensing the export and transfer of controlled goods and technology, including where this occurs through academic collaboration. The ECJU has no record of having granted an export licence for the University of Cambridge with the Beijing Institute of Aerospace Control Devices.
HM Government is committed to maintaining a robust and transparent export control regime. The Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, introduced in 2021, continue to provide a thorough risk assessment framework for assessing all export licence applications, including those relating to academic collaboration.
If the ECJU were presented with credible evidence of a breach of export controls, we would take these allegations seriously. We will not support collaborations which compromise our national security.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what analysis they have made of any alleged atrocities in India as part of the process of agreeing a free trade agreement with India, for the purposes of giving effect to section 3 of the Trade Act 2021.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has not made an analysis per the Lord's question, as no responsible House of Commons or House of Lords committee has published a report concerning India pursuant to section 3 of the Trade Act 2021.
The UK has engaged with India on a range of human rights matters, working with Union and State Governments, and with Non-Governmental Organisations, to build capacity and share expertise to promote human rights for all. This is undertaken on an ongoing basis and separately to the negotiation of a Free Trade Agreement.