Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the statement by the former Energy Minister in the press release published by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy entitled UK strengthens protections for taxpayers in energy treaty negotiations on 24 June 2022, what assessment she has made of the potential risk to taxpayers of legal challenges made through other investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK has investment agreements with ISDS provisions with over 90 trading partners, including within the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). There has never been a successful ISDS claim brought against the UK, nor has the threat of potential claims affected the Government’s legislative programme.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she has mane an assessment of the impact of Britain’s trade negotiations with India on the ability to manufacture generic medicines for the NHS.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I am clear that I will never agree any provisions that would increase the cost of medicines for our National Health Service. Britain’s trade negotiations with India will not impact on the UK’s access to affordable medicines.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of (a) the withdrawal of (i) France, (ii) Poland, (iii) Spain, (iv) the Netherlands and (v) Italy from the Energy Charter Treaty and (b) its implications for her department’s policies.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government continues to monitor the positions of other Contracting Parties to the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).
Responsibility for the ECT lies with the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy. The Department for International Trade leads on the investment provisions and investor state dispute settlement (ISDS) and continues to see an important role for these policies in the UK’s trade policy.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the HMG Policy of March 2021 on aligning UK international support for the clean energy transition, how many times since March 2021 has UK Export Finance provided export support under the exemptions allowed in UKEF's fossil fuel policy and which categories out of the five listed for grouping the exemptions were used.
Answered by Marcus Fysh
To date UK Export Finance has not provided support for any transactions under the five exemptions listed in Part A of the guidance on implementing HMG’s policy on aligning international support for the clean energy transition.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2022 to Question 138016 on Trade: Biodiversity, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the feasibility of assessing net gain in trade; what plans her Department has with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to assess the (a) qualitative and (b) quantitative impacts of new free trade agreements on the environment; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
Ministers at the Department for International Trade regularly discuss matters relating to trade and environment with counterparts at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The two departments work together to provide qualitative and quantitative assessments of the environmental impacts of new free trade agreements. This includes several aspects of the environment, including emissions, air quality, water quality, and biodiversity.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the estimated breakeven price is for gas from the Mozambique LNG project, supported by UK Export Finance.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
UK Export Finance is unable to provide this information for reasons of commercial sensitivity.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what temperature goal scenario was used in the climate assessment for UK Export Finance support of the Mozambique LNG.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
UK Export Finance’s climate change report considered, among many other factors, the project’s alignment to the Paris Agreement.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many new trade barriers her Department has (a) identified and (b) resolved in (i) 2021 and (ii) since the end of 31 January 2020; if she will issue an annual report on that subject; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
My department publishes statistics about trade barriers in its annual reports and has, today, released further statistics showing that we resolved 217 trade barriers across 74 countries in 2020-21, up 20% from 2019-20.
Statistics for April 2021 onwards will be released in the 2021-22 Annual Report.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department plans to conduct and publish an independently verified impact assessment of any prospective trade deal with New Zealand, including its impact on the UK achieving its (a) climate and (b) environmental goals.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Following the conclusion of negotiations with Australia and those with New Zealand, full impact assessments will be published prior to scrutiny by Parliament. These independently scrutinised impact assessments will cover the economic and environmental impacts of the deals.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the independently verified impact assessment of the Australia Free Trade Agreement due to be published by her Department before the end of the year will include a comprehensive assessment of its impact on the UK achieving its (a) climate and (b) environmental goals.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Following the conclusion of negotiations with Australia and those with New Zealand, full impact assessments will be published prior to scrutiny by Parliament. These independently scrutinised impact assessments will cover the economic and environmental impacts of the deals.