Oral Answers to Questions

Andy Carter Excerpts

Thursday 21st April 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Trade (Mr Ranil Jayawardena)]

It is always a pleasure to meet the hon. Lady. I am happy to confirm that we are committed to bulldozing trade barriers. I am pleased that Chile has been able to approve British pork producers exporting into a market that is worth over £200 million as part of our total trade in goods and services of £26.5 billion. There is more to do; I am happy to meet her.

[Andy Carter (Warrington South) (Con)]

T4. The Gulf states are an important trading zone for businesses based in Warrington South, particularly given the excellent links through Manchester Airport to the Gulf. What progress is my hon. Friend making in developing trade and investment links between the UK and the Gulf Co-operation Council?

[Mr Jayawardena]

The six GCC nations form together one of our largest trading partners, with total trade standing at over £31 billion in the four quarters to September last year. In January, we completed a public consultation in support of a trade deal with the GCC that gets the best deal for British businesses and consumers. We aim to start those negotiations with others later this year. In the meantime, we are driving forward investment, including £1 billion from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia supporting sustainable aviation in Teesside, and, as I referred to earlier, £10 billion from the United Arab Emirates in a sovereign investment partnership.