Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in other countries on the benefits of manufacturers operating in those countries basing their manufacturing operations in the UK.
Answered by Graham Stuart
My Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State regularly promotes manufacturing excellence and the benefits of investing in the UK, including with his counterparts from other countries. Recent examples include the Secretary of State’s visit to China, where he discussed investment in the UK technology sector, and his visit to Germany, where he met with Siemens.
The recent EY publication on FDI into Towns and Cities in the UK has shown that 57% of manufacturing FDI projects were attracted to places outside Core Cities or Large Towns, helping address geographic imbalances between cities and other locations benefits.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on UK trade with the US after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by George Hollingbery
My Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade has spoken on numerous occasions to the United States Trade Representative, and there have been five meetings of the UK-US Trade and Investment Working Group to date, involving discussions between representatives of the governments of the United Kingdom and the United States on a range of matters. We cannot negotiate any trade agreements whilst we are still members of the EU.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union on the UK trading on WTO terms after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by George Hollingbery
We firmly believe it is in the interests of both the EU and the UK to strike a deal. That remains the goal on both sides and we are confident that this will be achieved. But it is the job of a responsible Government to prepare for all scenarios, so we have already carried out very significant ‘no deal’ preparations for the unlikely event that we reach March 2019 without agreeing a deal and trade with the EU reverts to WTO terms.
Consequently, no deal planning and trading on WTO terms forms a necessary part of the discussions across Whitehall between all members of Cabinet, including the Department for Exiting the European Union.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what plans his Department has in place to include the devolved administrations in UK trade negotiations in the future.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In due course, Britain will be leaving the EU. This offers us an opportunity to forge a new role for ourselves in the world: to negotiate, in time, our own trade agreements and to be a positive and powerful force for free trade. The Prime Minister has established the Department for International Trade to promote British trade across the world and ensure the UK takes advantage of the huge opportunities open to us. The Government is currently reviewing its trade policy. We will engage fully with the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland governments and with a broad range of stakeholders over the coming weeks and months as we prepare for negotiations with our international partners.