Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will publish her Department’s policy process which ensures that the UK's animal welfare standards are not undermined when agreeing new free trade agreements.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This Government is committed to building a transparent trade policy, which is subject to robust and appropriate parliamentary scrutiny. The Government has made and fulfilled commitments to transparency, including publishing objectives and economic scoping assessments for its proposed Free Trade Agreements. At the end of negotiations, the Government will lay a final impact assessment prior to ratification under the statutory framework provided for by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.
In all trade negotiations the Government works with industry through our Trade Advisory Groups (TAG), Strategic Trade Advisory Groups (STAG) and the Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC). The new TAC will report on whether new free trade agreements are consistent with maintaining UK statutory protections for animal and plant health, animal welfare and the environment.
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 steps her Department will take to ensure that (a) Australian beef (i) from feedlots, (ii) injected with hormones and (iii) transported for over 24 hours will not enter the UK market as part of a UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement and (b) Australian beef imports do not undermine the UK's animal welfare standards given that those practices are illegal in the UK.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
All agri-food products imported into the UK under existing or future free trade agreements (FTA) will, as now, have to comply with UK’s import requirements. Hormone-treated beef is banned in the UK and will not be allowed to enter the UK market, and this will not change under any FTA.
As the Government has stated in its manifesto, in its trade negotiations the Government will not compromise on high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards.
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 steps her Department will take to ensure that (a) lamb from mulesed sheep flocks do not enter the UK as part of an Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement and (b) Australian lamb imports do not undermine the UK's animal welfare standards since that practice is illegal in the UK.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
All agri-food products imported into the UK under existing or future free trade agreements will, as now, have to comply with the UK’s import requirements. That will not change as part of an FTA. Australian animal welfare standards are higher, comparatively, than many countries around the world and the Australian industry has a long-standing commitment to phase out the practice of mulesing. The Government wants to see this happen.
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 Defence and Security Equipment International event organisers Clarion have negotiated with the government to secure covid-19 quarantine exemptions for attendees of the Defence and Security Equipment International 2021.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government will not be able to grant a large-scale exemption for attendees at Defence and Security Equipment International 2021.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when the new Trade and Agriculture Commission will be established; and when the Government plans to respond to the recommendations made by in Interim Trade and Agriculture Commission’s Final Report published in March 2021.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
On 7 June, the Department for International Trade (DIT) launched a call for expressions of interest for expert advisors to join the new Trade and Agriculture Commission. The Commission will be established in time to scrutinise the planned free trade agreement with Australia, to inform parliamentary scrutiny following signature.
DIT officials have been working closely with Whitehall Departments on the Government’s response to each of the 22 recommendations in the original Trade and Agriculture Commission’s report. The Government will publish the response as soon as it is ready.
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 discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the recent decision of the United States Administration to support a temporary suspension of intellectual property rights for covid-19 vaccines; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave earlier today (UIN: 448).
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will put on hold the approval of fossil fuel projects in UKEF’s pipeline until the new policy relating to the Prime Minister’s announcement on 12 December 2020 that the UK will end international finance for fossil fuels and support the sector’s transition to green technology and renewable energy is adopted.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The date of implementation of the new policy will be determined following the consultation that was launched on the same day. During the consultation period and ahead of the implementation of the new policy, the government will continue to apply current policy for all in-scope activities including proposals for high carbon projects, taking into consideration relevant factors including climate change. During this period, UK Export Finance (UKEF) will apply government’s current policy and continue to consider applications for support in the oil and gas sector.
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 the implications of the Prime Minister’s announcement on 12 December 2020 that the UK will end international finance for fossil fuels for the approval of those fossil fuel projects already in UKEF’s pipeline.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The date of implementation of the new policy will be determined following the consultation that was launched on the same day. During the consultation period and ahead of the implementation of the new policy, the government will continue to apply current policy for all in-scope activities including proposals for high carbon projects, taking into consideration relevant factors including climate change. During this period, UK Export Finance (UKEF) will apply government’s current policy and continue to consider applications for support in the oil and gas sector.
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 fossil fuel projects UK Export Finance has plans to finance in the 12 months; and where those projects will be located.
Answered by Graham Stuart
UK Export Finance (UKEF) is obliged to consider all requests for its support. These requests can be made, and subsequently withdrawn, at any time.
When considering a request for support, UKEF conducts extensive due diligence, including environmental, social, and human rights due diligence and consideration of climate change, to understand the risk it is being asked to take. There are various reasons why an application to UKEF might not result in support being provided, or, if support is offered, why delays in providing that support might arise. All these factors make determining when UKEF support may, or even will be provided difficult and imprecise.
UKEF is currently considering requests for support for 6 projects involving fossil fuels which may be supported in the next twelve months. UKEF has also received a further 10 applications for trade finance cover in the sector and two applications from companies involved in the sector for support from the Export Development Guarantee which is not linked to any particular project. It is possible that not all these transactions will be concluded within the next 12 months, or indeed in subsequent years.
Those projects are in the following countries:
Algeria | 1 |
Azerbaijan | 2 |
Brazil | 2 |
Canada | 1 |
China | 2 |
Egypt | 1 |
Iraq | 1 |
Italy | 1 |
Malaysia | 2 |
Thailand | 1 |
Turkey | 1 |
Turkmenistan | 1 |
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 the potential effect of the Government's response to the covid-19 pandemic on the number of investor state dispute settlement (ISDS) cases; what assessment she has made of the potential merits of (a) co-operating with other countries, especially those in the Global South, to jointly withdraw consent to ISDS arbitration and (b) unilaterally withdrawing consent to ISDS arbitration before the first cases are brought arising from the covid-19 pandemic; and if she will make it her policy to exclude ISDS from all trade and investment negotiations involving the UK and not to sign any new agreements including ISDS.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
The precise details of any future Free Trade Agreement are a matter for formal negotiations, and we would not seek to pre-empt these discussions.
HM Government recognises the importance of strengthening international investment in response to COVID-19, and the continuingly important role played by both investment protection and ISDS provisions in safeguarding British investors overseas – including pensioners across the country, through their pension funds, and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
We are clear that HM Government and our treaty partners retain the right to regulate in the public interest, including for public health purposes, which is already recognised under international law.