Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department has taken to help farmers across Windsor and Berkshire take advantage of the UK's new trade partnerships across the world.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Our trade agreements are unlocking new opportunities for our agriculture, food and drink sector. DIT recently launched an Export Support Service, where UK businesses can get answers to practical questions about exporting to Europe. Our ‘Open Doors’ campaign offers a wide range of support for businesses, including those in Windsor and Berkshire, who want to start exporting or expand into new markets. The campaign includes exporting masterclasses, a flagship agriculture mentoring programme and support to match producers with international buyers across the globe.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department has taken to help increase global export opportunities for farmers in (a) Windsor and Berkshire and (b) the UK.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Our trade agreements are unlocking new opportunities for our agriculture, food and drink sector. DIT recently launched an Export Support Service, where UK businesses can get answers to practical questions about exporting to Europe. Our ‘Open Doors’ campaign offers a wide range of support for businesses, including those in Windsor and Berkshire, who want to start exporting or expand into new markets. The campaign includes exporting masterclasses, a flagship agriculture mentoring programme and support to match producers with international buyers across the globe.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment he has made of recent trends of the level of foreign direct investment into the UK FinTech industry in the (a) 2017-18 and (b) 2016-17 financial years.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The information regarding FDI is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Last year British FinTech’s attracted more venture capital funding than any other European country once again totalling $1.73 billion across 261 deals.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the level of business interest in the great.gov.uk digital platform.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great.gov.uk is a digital platform with a suite of digital tools built to help UK businesses expand their reach overseas and secure their place on the global stage.
UK and overseas marketing activity and DIT’s commercial partnerships are used to promote the platform.
In the 14 months since great.gov.uk was launched in November 2016, great.gov.uk has been visited by nearly 2.8 million unique users. Of these:
Activity is planned to promote this platform further to the UK and overseas businesses.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in Commonwealth countries on future trade and investment between the UK and Commonwealth countries.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade regularly engages with his counterparts from Commonwealth countries, including at recent bilateral meetings at the 11th WTO MC11 Ministerial Conference meeting on 11 – 14 December 2017 and at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting on 23 – 26 January.
Given the importance we place on increasing intra-Commonwealth Trade and Investment and the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London, the Secretary of State and the Ministerial team will continue to have these discussions.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential role of the Prime Minister's Trade Envoys in increasing future levels of UK exports.
Answered by Liam Fox
The Trade Envoy programme has been in operation since 2012 and continues to go from strength to strength.
There are currently 21 Trade Envoys covering around 50 markets. Trade Envoys support the drive for economic growth by building on the UK’s existing relations with these markets and maximising bilateral trade.
It is crucial that we use all tools at our disposal to promote British trade across the world and Trade Envoys will be a key part of our Departmental strategy.