Asked by: Lord Roborough (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what impact assessments they undertook before reducing British tariffs on a quota of 1.4bn litres of US ethanol imports.
Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)
The 1.4 billion litre duty‑free tariff‑rate quota (TRQ) for US ethanol imports was introduced as part of the negotiation of the General Terms for the UK–US Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD).
Discussions on the EPD are ongoing, covering tariff and non-tariff barriers, including digital and services trade.
Impact assessments are completed at the conclusion of a trade agreement.
Asked by: Lord Roborough (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government why they reduced British tariffs on a quota of 1.4 billion litres of American ethanol imports.
Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)
The 1.4 billion litre duty‑free tariff‑rate quota (TRQ) for US ethanol imports was introduced as part of the negotiation of the General Terms for the UK–US Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD).
Discussions on the EPD are ongoing, covering tariff and non-tariff barriers, including digital and services trade.
Impact assessments are completed at the conclusion of a trade agreement.
Asked by: Lord Roborough (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of reopening the Ensus bioethanol plant.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The costs associated with this intervention have been independently verified and are commercially sensitive. The Department’s Annual Report and Accounts will record the expenditure incurred with Ensus and disclosures surrounding the expenditure incurred will reflect the materiality of the arrangement to the Department’s accounts, as is required by International Financial Reporting Standards.
Asked by: Lord Roborough (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend the Ensus bioethanol plant to operate for longer than three months.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The plant is being restarted on a temporary basis for three months as a pre-emptive measure. Government will continue to monitor market conditions closely to determine whether the continued production of CO2 at Ensus is required.
Asked by: Lord Roborough (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether UK imports of agricultural products from Mercosur countries will increase following the EU–Mercosur trade agreement.
Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)
The EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement liberalises trade between the EU and Mercosur. As such, we do not expect that there would be a direct impact on UK imports of agricultural products from the bloc.
Asked by: Lord Roborough (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they made of the impact of the US–UK Economic Prosperity Deal on UK farmers before it was signed.
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson
On 8 May, we concluded a landmark economic deal with the US. For the first time ever, this deal will open up exclusive access for UK beef farmers to the US market. This is a major opportunity for British farmers to sell their high-quality British beef to a market of over 300 million people, helping farmers grow their business.
We are engaging extensively with the agricultural and food sectors and will always put the UK’s national interest first.
Asked by: Lord Roborough (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government on what date they informed bioethanol companies of the details of the preferential terms for US bioethanol to be sold into the UK market under the US–UK Economic Prosperity Deal. [I]
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson
Representatives from the Department for Business and Trade have been engaging with bioethanol companies regularly, including on 8 May, when the US–UK Economic Prosperity Deal was signed. Both the Business Secretary and senior officials from the department have met members of the bioethanol sector to listen to their concerns, with further engagement to take place. We are committed to engaging with the sector during this critical period.
Asked by: Lord Roborough (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they consulted the bioethanol industry before the US–UK Economic Prosperity Deal was signed. [I]
Answered by Baroness Gustafsson
Representatives from the Department for Business and Trade have been engaging with bioethanol companies regularly, including on 8 May, when the US–UK Economic Prosperity Deal was signed. Both the Business Secretary and senior officials from the department have met members of the bioethanol sector to listen to their concerns, with further engagement to take place. We are committed to engaging with the sector during this critical period.