Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what objectives they have for the nuclear sector in their negotiations with the United States of America regarding a transformative technology partnership mentioned in the US–UK Economic Prosperity Deal.
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
On 8 May the UK Government announced a landmark economic deal with the United States, making the UK the first country to reach an agreement with President Trump.
The US is one of our most important and longstanding international partners on civil nuclear. We welcome future opportunities to work closely with the US administration to jointly develop our nuclear industries and set global standards together.
We have had early discussions with the US Government about deepening our partnership on advanced technologies, but we are unable to comment on the scope of ongoing negotiations.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to assess whether current investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms within treaties to which the UK is a signatory have produced outcomes that are in the UK’s national interest.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK is party to over 80 Bilateral Investment Treaties and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which contain investment protection and Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions.
The UK is a significant capital exporter and investment protection provisions backed by ISDS provide UK investors with legal protection against arbitrary, discriminatory or unfair treatment and expropriation without compensation. ISDS provides a framework to resolve disputes with host governments through independent arbitration.