G7

Craig Williams Excerpts

Wednesday 10th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady, like some others, is chasing after a false demon. There have been such clauses in all the trade agreements that we have signed, and my understanding is that we have not lost a single case. My view is that instead of asking for things that are not necessary, we should ask for things that will benefit Britain, such as opening up the United States. Let me give one example. Because of the Jones Act, if we want to ship goods from one port to another in America, we have to use US vessels. In a world of free trade and openness, we should be pushing for changes to that sort of thing. Let us put our efforts into that, rather than into raising false demons over trade deals.

[Craig Williams (Cardiff North) (Con)]

As a Member of Parliament from south Wales, I see at first hand the opportunity of green technologies. In the context of the statement, will my right hon. Friend set out how he expects companies in Britain to benefit from the growth in green technology?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his question. The more that we can set out a consistent framework and a pathway to reducing carbon emissions, the more we can encourage businesses to invest. That sort of framework has helped; in the last Parliament we saw a massive increase in offshore wind and other green technologies. I know that people in south Wales are particularly interested in what could happen with the Swansea lagoon. Having a plan makes it more likely that these schemes can go ahead.