Bilateral Trade: Sri Lanka

Debate between Lord Wallace of Saltaire and Lord Price

Tuesday 28th February 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Price]

I agree with my noble friend that the economic situation in Sri Lanka is improving. We are delighted to see the growth forecast of 5.5%. It is also heartening that exports from the UK to Sri Lanka increased by 46% in 2015 and exports from Sri Lanka to the UK stood at £1.1 billion. More than 100 UK companies have an affiliation in Sri Lanka. I am delighted that the UK Government are keen to support Sri Lanka moving to the GSP Plus scheme, which will remove tariffs on 66% of goods. At the Commonwealth meeting that we are holding next month we hope to think more about how we can strengthen those ties. There are no plans to have a trade envoy for Sri Lanka but we will continue to work with it to improve our trade relationships.

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD)]

My Lords, the Minister puts a great deal of stress on the Commonwealth as a framework. We have heard a great deal from the Government about how the Commonwealth, as a network, is going to replace Europe as the driver for British exports. Will he give us some specific examples of cases where membership of the Commonwealth has inclined the Sri Lankan Government or companies in Sri Lanka to favour the British against others in particular contracts?

[Lord Price]

We believe that there are extensive opportunities to improve trade throughout the Commonwealth, and that is what our meeting next week is going to draw out. The Prime Minister has already announced working groups with Australia, New Zealand and India. We want to work with all 52 countries in the Commonwealth on how we can drive forward the best possible trading relationships. There are many ways that can be done. They can be unilateral arrangements; they can be EPAs or FTAs. We need to consider for each country what is in their best economic interests and those of the Commonwealth.