Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the projected impact of the UK–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement on the UK economy.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
Our published impact assessment shows that the UK-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) could increase UK gross domestic product (GDP) 0.03% or the equivalent of £0.8 billion by 2035. The impact assessment also shows that bilateral trade could increase by almost 60% and that take home pay for UK workers could increase by around £200 million in the long run, when compared to 2019 estimates of wages without the agreement.
The full impact assessment, which also includes impacts on sectors, regions, the environment and more, is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-new-zealand-fta-impact-assessment
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UK's trade deals since the UK’s departure from the EU.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
HM Government is committed to a trade policy that secures opportunities for people in every corner of the country.
Scoping Assessments are published to provide a preliminary assessment of the potential long run impacts of new Free Trade Agreements in advance of negotiations. We have already published Scoping Assessments for agreements with the United States, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. An impact assessment for the United Kingdom-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) – the first major trade deal that the United Kingdom has struck as an independent trading nation – has also been published.
That Impact Assessment shows the United Kingdom-Japan CEPA could increase British Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by £1.5 billion in the long run, compared to trading under World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards negotiating trade agreements with the governments of (1) Canada, (2) Australia, and (3) New Zealand.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
Strengthening and enhancing our bilateral trading relationships with Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are key priorities for the Government’s trade negotiations programme.
(1) The UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement (TCA) was signed on 9th December and it will come fully into force once it has completed ratification in Canada. The TCA locked in our existing trading relationship with Canada as we left the transition period and sets out a clear path to begin negotiating a new trade deal during 2021.
(2) Good progress has been made in the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The third round of negotiations was held between 23rd November and 4th December, completing around 50 discussions. Discussions reached an early milestone of exchanging initial tariffs offers. The fourth round of negotiations will begin on 22nd February.
(3) We are also making good progress on a UK-New Zealand FTA; the third round of negotiations with New Zealand took place between 25th January and 9th February, making progress in many chapters, and we will be publishing an Outcome Statement shortly.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel on 12 October (HL8578), whether they intend to carry out similar Scoping Assessments on the potential impact on Northern Ireland of other new Free Trade Agreements.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
The Government is committed to an inclusive and transparent trade policy. We have published scoping assessments for agreements with the United States, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. These scoping assessments set out the potential economic impacts on all nations and regions of the UK, including Northern Ireland. We will publish impact assessments following the conclusion of negotiations which will include an assessment of the impacts on UK regions and nations.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of their progress to date in relation to their membership of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
We hope to be able to apply for formal accession of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in early 2021. This continues to be a priority for the government and a key part of our trade negotiations programme.
We have engaged with all eleven member countries at both ministerial and official level, an approach that aligns with the accession process for new CPTPP members, and all CPTPP members have welcomed our interest in accession. In particular, Japan underlined their commitment to supporting the UK’s accession during the Secretary of State’s visit to Japan to sign the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of their free trade agreement with the government of Japan on Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
The preliminary analysis from the published Scoping Assessment before negotiations began shows that a UK-Japan agreement could benefit Northern Ireland with output (measured by gross value added) estimated to increase by between 0.05% and 0.15% in the long run. This Scoping Assessment can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uks-approach-to-negotiating-a-free-trade-agreement-with-japan.
A full Impact Assessment of the Free Trade Agreement itself will be published when the agreement is laid before Parliament.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the status of UK trade negotiations with Commonwealth countries; and in particular with (1) Canada, (2) Australia, and (3) New Zealand.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
Strengthening and enhancing our bilateral trading relationships with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, are key priorities for HM Government’s trade negotiations programme.
The Department for International Trade is committed to negotiating and securing ambitious free trade deals with Australia and New Zealand as soon as possible, harnessing the opportunity to negotiate a high-quality agreement with like-minded, liberal trading nations.
Similarly, both the United Kingdom and Canada agree on the importance of protecting and strengthening our trading relationship, now that we have left the EU and the Department is engaging constructively with HM Government of Canada on a seamless transition of our trading relationship beyond 1st January 2020, so that British and Canadian businesses and consumers can continue to benefit.
In addition, the United Kingdom is also seekingaccession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), of which Canada, Australia and New Zealand are three members.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the status of UK trade negotiations with the government of the United States.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
The fourth UK-US Free Trade Agreement negotiating round took place from 8 September to 18 September 2020. A Written Ministerial Statement was published on 22 September 2020, updating parliament on the progress of the round.
Significant progress has been achieved since launching negotiations in May 2020, and most chapter areas are now in the advanced stages of talks.
Shortly before the fourth negotiating round both sides exchanged their first tariff offers, allowing a series of detailed market access discussions to be held during the round - a notable milestone which demonstrates momentum.
In parallel to the negotiations, my Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade held a series of key meetings with the United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Robert Lighthizer. They share an ambition for a comprehensive trade agreement. The UK has been clear there is no set deadline for agreeing a deal.
The fifth round of talks will take place in mid-October, with additional intersessional discussions taking place in the meantime.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the progress of trade negotiations with the government of the United States.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
The second round of negotiations for a UK-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) took place from 15-26 June 2020. A Written Ministerial Statement was published on Tuesday 30 June, updating parliament on the outcomes of the round.
Talks continued to be positive and constructive, with progress being made towards a comprehensive agreement. Discussions spanned the majority of areas covered by an FTA, with further sessions coming over the next two weeks on remaining major policy areas.
During the round, talks advanced across a number of chapters and teams are now into detailed discussions on text.
There was good progress on a dedicated Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) chapter. This included agreement that the next formal UK-US SME Dialogue will be held in Boston in October 2020.
The third negotiating round is expected to take place at the end of July.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much foreign direct investment there was into the UK from the Republic of Ireland during the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Fairhead
In the last five years the Department for International Trade has recorded a total of 257 investments into the UK from the Republic of Ireland with the creation of 10,443 new and 3,025 safeguarded jobs.