Oral Answers to Questions

Anthony Browne Excerpts

Thursday 19th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[James Grundy (Leigh) (Con)]

What steps the Government are taking to maintain food and farming standards in future trade agreements.

[Anthony Browne (South Cambridgeshire) (Con)]

What steps the Government are taking to maintain food and farming standards in future trade agreements.

[Damian Hinds (East Hampshire) (Con)]

What steps the Government are taking to maintain food and farming standards in future trade agreements.

--- Later in debate ---

[Greg Hands]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Placing the Trade and Agriculture Commission on a statutory footing will ensure that public and industry interests are advanced and protected in Britain’s agriculture and trade policy. As the National Farmers’ Union said:

“This significant commitment to primary legislation on food standards, both in the Agriculture Bill and the Trade Bill, is exactly what we have been calling for.”

[Anthony Browne]

The farmers of South Cambridgeshire are some of the most efficient and environmentally friendly in the country, but they have concerns that they might be undermined in any trade deal by imports that are produced to lower animal welfare or environmental standards. They strongly welcome the Government’s decision to put the Trade and Agriculture Commission on a statutory footing—a move also welcomed by farming and environmental groups across the country. Will my right hon. Friend tell the House what role the commission will play during trade negotiations, to ensure that standards are maintained?

[Greg Hands]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. He is a reliable supporter of farmers in his constituency. The Agri-food trade and agriculture group will feed in during the negotiations. He also asked about the TAC, and I wish to use this occasion to praise its chairman, Tim Smith, for the excellent work that he has done so far, and in very good time.

Oral Answers to Questions

Anthony Browne Excerpts

Thursday 5th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

We are working very closely with the Cabinet Office to make sure that businesses have all the information they need to prepare for transition at the end of this year. This is also an opportunity, of course, to get more businesses trading with the rest of the world, and we will be saying more about this soon in our new export strategy.

[Anthony Browne (South Cambridgeshire) (Con)]

T2. My constituency of South Cambridgeshire is not just the life sciences capital of the UK or of Europe, but it claims to be the life sciences capital of the world. It has the global headquarters of AstraZeneca, the Wellcome Sanger Institute, which is leading the world in genome sequencing, and Abcam, a start-up company now worth £3 billion, which is leading the UK in antibody products, and many of these are exporters. What assessment has the Secretary of State made of the commercial opportunities for these firms of a potential UK-US free trade agreement?

[The Minister of State, Department for International Trade (Greg Hands)]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. When I was previously in this job, I visited the sector in Cambridgeshire. We know that the life sciences industry contributes £74 billion a year to the economy, creating 250,000 jobs and developing life-saving medicines for UK patients. Annually, the east of England exports £711 million of medical and pharmaceutical products to the US. Estimates show that a UK-US FTA could boost the whole region’s economy by £345 million in the long run.

Oral Answers to Questions

Anthony Browne Excerpts

Thursday 23rd January 2020 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Anthony Browne (South Cambridgeshire) (Con)]

1. What steps her Department is taking to promote global free trade.

[Stuart Anderson (Wolverhampton South West) (Con)]

10. What steps her Department is taking to promote global free trade.

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

As we leave the European Union, we have a huge opportunity to be a liberalising force for trade in the world. We aim to secure agreements with countries accounting for 80% of UK trade within three years of leaving the EU, and as we take up our independent seat at the World Trade Organisation we will be a champion of global free trade.

[Anthony Browne]

The farmers in my constituency of South Cambridgeshire are some of the most productive in the country and they are very keen to increase exports. They also want to make sure that they are not undermined in the marketplace by competing with farmers from countries that follow lower environmental standards or animal welfare standards. As my right hon. Friend starts the negotiations with other countries to increase trade, what is she doing to make sure that farmers from Britain can compete on a level playing field?

[Elizabeth Truss]

We remain absolutely committed to upholding our high environmental, food safety and animal welfare standards post Brexit. As my hon. Friend points out, there are huge opportunities for farmers for trade—for example, getting lamb into the US market. The US is the second biggest importer of lamb by value in the world. Currently, UK lamb cannot get into the US market, and that is a huge opportunity for our farmers.