Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether steel imports from India will be covered by UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism exemptions under the UK-India Free Trade Agreement.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Steel is a top priority for this Government. The UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) does not include any text related to the implementation of the UK’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
The FTA includes liberalised Most Favoured Nation tariffs on steel, but the UK’s trade remedies, including a global safeguard measure on certain steel products, continue to apply. Also, as part of our agreement, we included a ‘bilateral safeguard mechanism’ which allows us to temporarily increase tariffs or suspend tariff concessions if an industry is suffering or is at threat of serious injury as a result of reduced duties.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the UK-India Free Trade Agreement includes tariff exemptions on steel imported from India.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Steel is a top priority for this Government. The UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) does not include any text related to the implementation of the UK’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
The FTA includes liberalised Most Favoured Nation tariffs on steel, but the UK’s trade remedies, including a global safeguard measure on certain steel products, continue to apply. Also, as part of our agreement, we included a ‘bilateral safeguard mechanism’ which allows us to temporarily increase tariffs or suspend tariff concessions if an industry is suffering or is at threat of serious injury as a result of reduced duties.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the UK-India Free Trade Agreement includes tariffs on steel imported from India.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Steel is a top priority for this Government. The UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) does not include any text related to the implementation of the UK’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
The FTA includes liberalised Most Favoured Nation tariffs on steel, but the UK’s trade remedies, including a global safeguard measure on certain steel products, continue to apply. Also, as part of our agreement, we included a ‘bilateral safeguard mechanism’ which allows us to temporarily increase tariffs or suspend tariff concessions if an industry is suffering or is at threat of serious injury as a result of reduced duties.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing the assets Tata Steel in Port Talbot into public ownership.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Tata Steel decided to close the blast furnaces at Port Talbot in January 2024, under the previous government.
However, we negotiated an improved deal with Tata regarding the transformation of Port Talbot after just 10 weeks in office, with better terms for workers, future investment opportunities for the area and the highest voluntary redundancy package Tata has ever offered for workers. Work is proceeding on the development of the Electric Arc Furnace which will enable steelmaking to continue at the site and form a key part of our future steel sector.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the closure of the blast furnaces at the Tata Steel site on the economy in Neath Port Talbot.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are aware of the impact of this transition on the local economy and community, and we have taken steps to assist and support those affected. Under the leadership of the Secretary of State for Wales, the Port Talbot Tata Steel Transition Board moved from discussion to delivery from last July. Since then, more than £50 million has been announced to support steel communities, from the £80 million available from UK Government. The latest release of funding, to support mental health, was announced just last month.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has plans to make an assessment of the potential impact of the UK's free trade agreements with (a) Australia and (b) New Zealand on Welsh agriculture.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK Government assessed the environmental impacts of the UK-Australia FTA and the UK-New Zealand FTA within the independently scrutinised impact assessments which were published in December 2021 and February 2022 respectively when the FTAs were signed. These covered both the economic and environmental impacts.
In addition, the independent Trade Agriculture Commission gave both the UK-Australia FTA and the UK-New Zealand FTA a clean bill of health, concluding both FTAs are consistent with the maintenance of UK statutory protections in relation to animal or plant life or health, animal welfare and environmental protection.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has plans to review the UK's free trade agreements with (a) Australia and (b) New Zealand.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK Government continually assesses the implementation of free trade agreements to maximise their benefit and to support economic growth. The Department is working to ensure the UK-Australia and UK-New Zealand Free Trade Agreements continue to work well for business.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether future trade deals will include impact assessments for (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) the regions of England.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
For new free trade agreements (FTAs), the Government publishes impact assessments to support the parliamentary scrutiny process of FTAs. The analysis will include an assessment on the UK's regions and nations as well as UK growth and trade.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what funding is available from his Department to support (a) Welsh companies making redundancies, (b) Welsh employees at risk of redundancy and (c) Welsh companies in retaining employees.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government aims to respond to any job losses from company distress cases swiftly and coherently, to reduce the local impact and support people back to work.
Through the Redundancy Payments Service (RPS), part of the Insolvency Service, employers can access funding for redundancies, if required. For employers who are considering making 20 or more employees redundant at any one site, the RPS also notify the appropriate government departments and agencies, in confidence. This includes Jobcentre Plus and other service providers in their local area who will reach out with offers of assistance during the notification/consultation period.
The Department for Work and Pensions locally deploy the Rapid Response Service to provide support to people affected by redundancy, regardless of whether they are receiving benefits. The aim is to help people into new employment as quickly as possible. The service supports people during their notice period and up to 13 weeks after they leave work.
Additionally, the Welsh Government directly delivers services supporting redundant workers. ReAct Plus is a grant programme, offering tailored support to those trying to re-enter the labour market by removing barriers and providing grant support for vocational training, travel costs and care (including childcare) related to training.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he is taking steps to help support British (a) defence and (b) technology companies to participate in procurement processes arising from proposed increased military production in EU countries.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Working with industry, the government will continue focusing on markets offering the best export opportunities, and with whom stronger defence, digital and technology relationships support delivery of UK defence objectives, including across Europe. Domestically, the Cabinet Office's recent National Procurement Policy Statement sets out how public procurement can be used to kickstart economic growth, including by encouraging innovation and new technologies in line with the Industrial Strategy.
As part of a defence innovation drive, the government will also look to enhance investment in defence start-ups and scale-up technology and capability, including through the National Security Strategic Investment Fund.
More broadly, the government recognises the defence, digital and technology sector's importance to our economic growth mission which is why they were identified as two of the eight growth-driving sectors in our forthcoming Industrial Strategy, which will be published in spring 2025.