Oral Answers to Questions

Alun Cairns Excerpts

Tuesday 12th May 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mark Eastwood (Dewsbury) (Con)]

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of a free trade agreement with the US.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of a free trade agreement with the US.

[The Secretary of State for International Trade (Elizabeth Truss)]

A free trade agreement with the United States is set to deliver a £15 billion increase in bilateral trade, benefiting every region of the UK, including the nation of Wales and the great county of Yorkshire, and delivering an extra £1.8 billion for workers’ wages.

[Elizabeth Truss]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. We will shortly be launching negotiations with Japan, Australia and New Zealand, and pressing for early accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. This is an important step in diversifying our trade and making sure we are not just dependent on a small number of countries for our imports and exports. It is also important that we work with like-minded free market democracies to help set global standards in trade.

[Alun Cairns [V]]

Does the Secretary of State agree that all parts of the UK and all economic sectors stand to gain from a trade deal with the United States? However, some lobbyists are concerned about their specific interests, so what reassurance can my right hon. Friend give that fairness to both the UK and the US, as well as economic opportunities for all parts of the country, will be central to her thinking in the negotiations?

[Elizabeth Truss]

A free trade deal with the United States is set to benefit every nation and region in the UK, including Wales. We will strike a hard bargain, and seek a deal that is fair for our producers. For example, we want to make sure that we gain access for British lamb and Welsh lamb in the United States market. It is the second biggest importer of lamb in the world, and it represents a massive opportunity for our farming sector and for the nation of Wales.