Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current status of the proposed free trade agreement with the Maldives.
Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)
The previous Government, of which the noble lord was a member, launched a public consultation into a potential UK/Maldives FTA in 2023. The Department for Business and Trade has subsequently evaluated its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) programme and decided not to progress a UK-Maldives FTA at this time. It would be inappropriate to speculate on what might or might not be included in an FTA which we are not pursuing.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the free trade agreement with the Maldives will include specific provisions that prioritise tuna caught by low impact methods over industrially caught tuna.
Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)
The previous Government, of which the noble lord was a member, launched a public consultation into a potential UK/Maldives FTA in 2023. The Department for Business and Trade has subsequently evaluated its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) programme and decided not to progress a UK-Maldives FTA at this time. It would be inappropriate to speculate on what might or might not be included in an FTA which we are not pursuing.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what safeguards for the marine environment they plan to include in any free trade agreement with the Maldives.
Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)
The previous Government, of which the noble lord was a member, launched a public consultation into a potential UK/Maldives FTA in 2023. The Department for Business and Trade has subsequently evaluated its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) programme and decided not to progress a UK-Maldives FTA at this time. It would be inappropriate to speculate on what might or might not be included in an FTA which we are not pursuing.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to carry out a monitoring report of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, including its environmental impact and impact on deforestation; whether they will include opportunities for expert stakeholders to provide their views and evidence; and how often they plan to carry out such a report.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
The Department for Business and Trade intends to cover the UK’s accession to the CPTPP Agreement in a Free Trade Agreement monitoring report. The Department will consider a range of areas for inclusion in this report, including the environment, and it will take account of stakeholder views. The timing of the report will be provided in due course.