Republic of Korea: Fifth Round of Free Trade Negotiations
Douglas Alexander Excerpts(6 days, 7 hours ago)
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The Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security (Mr Douglas Alexander)
The fifth round of negotiations on an upgraded free trade agreement with the Republic of Korea took place in Seoul between 7 and 11 July 2025.
Total trade between the UK and RoK was worth £15.4 billion in 2024. An upgraded FTA is intended to support further growth in this trade and strengthen our broader relationship with RoK.
An upgraded UK-RoK FTA will help secure and future-proof current goods market access. It will update the agreement in key areas where trade policy has progressed in recent years, including digital and services trade. It will also support co-operation in broader parts of the UK-RoK strategic relationship, with commitments in areas such as supply chains and the environment.
During this round, negotiators made good progress in several areas, including but not limited to:
Rules of origin
Constructive discussions were held covering both the main chapter text and product specific rules for a range of sectors including automotives, textiles and apparel, and food and drink.
Digital trade
A new ambitious digital trade chapter is a key part of these negotiations. Sides held further positive discussions during the round on a range of areas including trade digitalisation and business safeguards.
Services
The two sides continue to hold constructive discussions on further support for trade in services. This includes financial services, professional and business services, and rules relating to the development of domestic regulation.
Other Areas
Positive discussions were held across a range of other areas of the FTA, including sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and trade and sustainable development.
The Government will only ever sign a trade agreement that aligns with the UK’s national interests, upholding our high standards across a range of sectors, including protections for the national health service.
The UK and RoK expect to hold further discussions in the autumn. The Government will continue to work towards delivering outcomes in the FTA that secure economic growth for the UK and will update Parliament on the progress of discussions with RoK as they continue to develop.
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UK Internal Market Act 2020 Review: Government Response
Douglas Alexander Excerpts(1 week, 5 days ago)
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The Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security (Mr Douglas Alexander)
The UK Government are today publishing their response to the review of the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 and public consultation.
The review was launched in January 2025, with its scope expanded beyond what the law requires, to help determine how the operation of the Act can be improved. The review is now complete, well ahead of the statutory deadline of December 2025.
During the review, the UK Government conducted a 10-week public consultation, closing on 3 April. We engaged a wide variety of stakeholders, and more than half of the 85 responses received were from the business community. We are grateful to everyone who took the time to send a written response and to join the stakeholder roundtable discussions that we held during March 2025.
The consultation confirmed that businesses, wherever they are based, need certainty that they can trade freely within the UK, unencumbered by unnecessary disruption resulting from poorly managed regulatory difference between the nations. Businesses also require clarity and certainty to take informed planning decisions and make confident investment decisions for the future. This is highlighted by the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showing that trade between the four nations of the UK is valued at £129 billion, equivalent to around 6% of UK GDP in 2019, and that it is particularly important to the economies of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
The UK Government have been explicit about the need for businesses to have certainty, which is why the review has not considered repeal of the Act. Instead, we pledged to explore improvements in the way the Act’s provisions operate through common frameworks. There was also strong support in our consultation for the four Governments within the UK to work together through the common frameworks. That is why the UK Government’s response describes how to manage the UK internal market in a more transparent, proportionate and pragmatic way, fostering open policy discussions between the UK Government and devolved Governments, with greater clarity and engagement with businesses and other stakeholders.
In common frameworks, discussions between the four Governments can maximise opportunities for alignment where in the nations’ mutual interest, and manage divergence in ways that might promote long-term growth across the UK.
Therefore, the UK Government will:
implement UK Internal Market Act exclusions that have been agreed by all Governments within a common framework;
alongside economic impacts, now consider in particular environmental protection and public health in UK Internal Market Act exclusions, thereby ensuring a balance of factors is considered;
establish a minimum economic impact process for considering smaller exclusions, and implement them where all Governments agree the exclusion has an economic impact of less than £10 million a year;
implement a “reserve” exclusions process where it has not been possible for all four Governments to reach agreement on an exclusion;
work with the devolved Governments to agree processes for how all four Governments engage with businesses and other stakeholders on matters being discussed in common frameworks; and
work with the devolved Governments to agree a process for all four Governments to jointly refer UK internal market matters for advice to the Office for the Internal Market.
The UK Government are confident these measures meet the key requests of many stakeholders, allowing Governments to move forward together in managing the internal market in a way that delivers growth, jobs and opportunities across our country.
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UK-Turkey Enhanced Free Trade Agreement Negotiations
Douglas Alexander Excerpts(1 week, 6 days ago)
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The Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security (Mr Douglas Alexander)
The first round of negotiations on an enhanced free trade agreement with Turkey took place in Ankara between 23 June and 2 July 2025.
During this initial round, talks focused on gathering insights across policy areas and building a shared understanding of each other’s initial positions. Negotiations were constructive, with both countries working towards agreeing ambitious outcomes in key areas, including services and digital trade. The talks also facilitated UK-Turkey co-operation and dialogue in areas of mutual interest that support growth.
Economic growth is our first mission in Government, and FTAs have an important role to play in achieving this. A stronger trade relationship with Turkey will contribute to jobs and prosperity in the UK. Total trade between the UK and Turkey was worth £27.8 billion in 2024.
Negotiators made significant progress in a number of areas:
Sustainability and collaboration
Negotiators discussed areas of future co-operation relating to innovation, small and medium-sized enterprises and trade and development. The round also covered women’s economic empowerment and labour rights, identifying joint priorities and reaffirming relevant international commitments. Commitments being sought will help foster joint initiatives to, for instance, improve women’s access to global markets and reduce trade barriers for SMEs.
Regulatory environment
Negotiations also covered technical issues relating to the regulatory environments of both parties, including consumer protection and competition. Discussions centred around rules and provisions to promote fair competition and safeguard the interests and rights of consumers engaged in cross-border trade between the UK and Turkey.
Trade in services
Productive discussions were held on key technical issues, including digital, financial and professional business services. Initial discussions aimed to identify areas of alignment and explore commercially meaningful opportunities to build on the existing agreement’s limited services provisions.
Goods
Turkey was the UK’s 16th largest trading partner in 2024 and UK goods exports to Turkey were worth £6.1 billion. The UK’s existing FTA with Turkey replicates the effect of the EU-Turkey customs unions. Industrial products are fully liberalised and agricultural goods are partially liberalised in the current FTA. During the first round of negotiations, both sides worked to establish baselines and respective ambitions, as well as agree a forward process for future rounds.
The Government will only ever sign a trade agreement that aligns with the UK’s national interests and upholds our high standards across a range of sectors, including as regards protections for the national health service.
The second round of negotiations is expected to take place in autumn 2025. Ministers will update Parliament on the progress of discussions with Turkey as they continue to develop.
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Oral Answers to Questions
Douglas Alexander Excerpts(2 weeks, 3 days ago)
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Andrew Ranger (Wrexham) (Lab)
The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Mr Douglas Alexander)
The Government are committed to working with all levels of government to deliver for people across the whole United Kingdom. In the last few weeks, I attended the Interparliamentary Forum to speak with colleagues from across the four legislatures, and I have held productive discussions with devolved Government colleagues on our trade strategy.
Andrew Ranger
This Labour Government understand the importance of partnership in power. One year on, I welcome that this partnership has delivered record funding for Wales to improve our railways, protect coal tips, and boost our economy and our public services. At the general election, we rightly recognised that the Welsh fiscal framework is outdated. Please could the Minister provide an update on the progress being made to address this?
Mr Alexander
I can give my hon. Friend the undertaking he seeks. We are committed to working in partnership with the Welsh Government to ensure that the framework is brought up to date and delivers value for money. My officials are supporting His Majesty’s Treasury on how the framework can be updated, and that work is ongoing.
David Mundell (Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale) (Con)
Are the Government still committed to one civil service across the United Kingdom? If so, what are they proactively doing to ensure that as part of their career development, UK Government civil servants can work within the devolved Administrations and that those within the devolved Administrations can have roles within the UK Government?
Mr Alexander
I pay tribute to the work of the civil service, not just for the UK Government but across the United Kingdom. Civil servants do tireless work on behalf of the public each and every day and are a critical part of this Government’s determination to deliver significant change for the country and drive forward the missions we have defined. To the right hon. Member’s question, in the early years of devolution there was a lot more interchange between the home civil service here in London and the civil service in offices such as those in Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff. I know that thought is being given to how we ensure that there is the right expertise in the right parts of the country, and there is an information exchange on how to get this right.
Alex McIntyre (Gloucester) (Lab)
Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership: Costa Rica
Douglas Alexander Excerpts(2 weeks, 5 days ago)
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The Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security (Mr Douglas Alexander)
Today, the Department for Business and Trade is publishing a summary of and response to public engagement on Costa Rica’s CPTPP accession working group.
At the CPTPP ministerial commission meeting in November 2024, CPTPP Ministers, alongside the UK, formally decided to commence an accession process with Costa Rica, establishing an accession working group. As part of this, the Government launched a public engagement period that ran from 29 November 2024 until 24 January 2025, to understand business, civil society and public views and insights on Costa Rica’s potential membership. Twenty-eight responses were received in total, including from businesses, trade bodies, international stakeholders, public sector organisations and individuals.
The document published today summarises the feedback received, and provides a response setting out how the Government intend to approach the accession negotiations with Costa Rica. This feedback is actively informing the Government’s approach to negotiations, including during the first in-person discussions with Costa Rica, which recently took place between 9 and 11 June 2025 in Brisbane, Australia.
CPTPP parties, including the UK, are committed to maintaining the agreement’s high standards, and to further expanding trade ties to drive economic growth. I look forward to keeping the House updated on future CPTPP developments.
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UK-Taiwan Enhanced Trade Partnership
Douglas Alexander Excerpts(3 weeks, 6 days ago)
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The Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security (Mr Douglas Alexander)
I am pleased to announce that the three pillars under the UK-Taiwan enhanced trade partnership, on investment, digital trade, and energy and net zero, were signed on 30 June. The signing took place between the UK representative at the British Office Taipei, Ruth Bradley-Jones, and the Taipei representative to the UK, Vincent Chin-Hsiang Yao. I witnessed this signing alongside Executive Yuan Minister without Portfolio Yang Jen-ni during my trip to Taipei where I also co-chaired the 27th UK-Taiwan trade talks.
The ETP pillars are non-legally binding arrangements which will create frameworks to further enhance trade, investment and economic co-operation between the UK and Taiwan. They build on commitments made under the existing UK-Taiwan ETP signed on 14 November 2023. The ETP pillars will support the unofficial relationship between the UK and Taiwan, delivering benefits to both economies. Their content has been informed by engagement with UK businesses, to ensure that they will deliver tangible results over time, supporting the already strong, long-standing trade relationship between the UK and Taiwan which was worth £9.3 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2024.
The No. 1 priority of this Government is economic growth. “The UK’s Trade Strategy”, launched on 26 June, sets out our approach to maximise trade opportunities to support the UK’s growth mission. Utilising flexible trading arrangements and partnerships, like this ETP, demonstrates this Government’s agile and targeted approach to trade policy, which will be key in driving UK growth.
The digital trade, investment and energy and net zero pillars are available on www.gov.uk.
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UK Trade Strategy
Douglas Alexander Excerpts(1 month ago)
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The Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security (Mr Douglas Alexander)
I am pleased to announce that today, 26 June, the Department of Business and Trade has published the UK’s trade strategy, setting out the Government’s plan to maximise trade opportunities to support growth.
Following the publication of the Government’s industrial strategy on Monday, 23 June, which catalyses 10 years of sustained economic growth in our most important sectors and their supply chains and workforces, the trade strategy positions the UK to address the international environment and to be a key influencer on the world stage using free trade, while also reflecting the needs of British businesses in a changing world.
This Government were elected to deliver our plan for change, and, in doing so, to improve the lives of working people and strengthen our country. This included a clear manifesto commitment to publish a strategy that would set out our response to the changing trading environment. This strategy follows our landmark deal with India, the UK-US economic prosperity deal and resetting our relationship with the EU—all of which have been achieved in the first year of the Government.
Having engaged extensively with business, the UK trade strategy is rooted in data and seeks to reflect not only the changing character of the UK economy, but the challenging geoeconomic and geopolitical context of the coming decade. Our trade strategy acknowledges that the structures that we have relied on to be a successful open economy need to adapt to accommodate the changing global trading environment.
Global trade is entering a new era of turbulence, with geopolitical tensions, geoeconomic challenges and technological disruption reshaping the international order. We are witnessing a rise in protectionism, supply chain vulnerabilities and challenges to the multilateral system.
All of these factors necessitate a fresh approach to trade policy. As a services superpower, the UK stands uniquely poised to thrive amid these challenges.
Our trade strategy sets out our prioritisation of markets that present the biggest opportunity to UK businesses, encouraging the use of our varied range of trade policy tools. This will be supported by the new Ricardo fund to help UK regulators remove regulatory barriers for businesses trading abroad.
The trade strategy strengthens our business support, with a particular focus on simplifying and digitalising border processes and introducing measures to protect businesses against economic pressure by strengthening our approach to trade defence: making our trade remedies system more accessible, assertive and agile; reviewing our trade defence instruments; and ensuring businesses are supported by establishing an economic security advisory service.
Finally, the trade strategy outlines how it goes hand-in-hand with our wider Government objectives such as our support to developing countries and our environmental commitments.
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Switzerland Free Trade Agreement Negotiations: Round 7
Douglas Alexander Excerpts(1 month ago)
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The Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security (Mr Douglas Alexander)
The seventh round of negotiations on an enhanced free trade agreement with Switzerland took place in London between 5 and 13 June 2025.
Economic growth is our first mission in government and FTAs have an important role to play in achieving this. An enhanced trade agreement with Switzerland will support British businesses, back British jobs, and put more money in people’s pockets.
Switzerland is the UK’s 10th biggest trading partner and the UK-Swiss trade relationship was worth more than £45 billion in 2024. Services exports account for more than £18 billion of this, making Switzerland the UK’s sixth largest services export partner. This included over £700 million from Scotland and £1 billion from the north-west in 2022. The trading relationship supported 130,000 services jobs across the UK in 2020.
An enhanced FTA with Switzerland aims to deliver long-term certainty for UK services firms, by locking in access to the Swiss market, guaranteeing the free flow of data and cementing business travel arrangements.
This round saw momentum in a number of areas:
Services and investment
Constructive discussions were held across services, including with regard to market access.
Negotiators also made good progress and agreed several key commitments in cross-border trade in services and domestic regulation. Progress was also made on financial services, with both sides confirming our shared ambition in this area.
On mobility, talks focused on long-term certainty for UK businesspersons travelling to and delivering services in Switzerland.
Innovation
Both sides discussed how the FTA can support trade in innovative goods and services. This could include mechanisms to bring together businesses, academia and Government to discuss ways to address any trade barriers and opportunities that arise from innovation in the future. This is an important request from businesses in the UK and Switzerland.
Intellectual property
During this round, the UK and Switzerland focused on geographical indications, with the aim of retaining the GIs already protected by the UK and Switzerland as well as establishing a streamlined process for the protection of new GIs. Negotiations will continue with the aim of agreeing a comprehensive framework for the protection of intellectual property.
Goods
Progress was made on goods market access as we continue the process of modernising the existing agreement. The 99% of UK goods exports to Switzerland by value are already tariff free. We reached provisional agreement on rules of origin which will make it easier for UK businesses to use imported materials in their exports to Switzerland through a new cumulation article and provide continuity by preserving the existing product specific rules.
We also reached provisional agreement during the round on policy areas including dispute settlement, development, consumer protection, animal welfare and anti-corruption.
Next steps
Round 8 of negotiations is set to take place in Switzerland in autumn 2025.
The Government are focused on securing outcomes in an enhanced FTA that boost economic growth for the UK and Ministers will continue to update Parliament on the progress of negotiations.
The Government will only ever sign a trade agreement which aligns with the UK’s national interests, upholding our high standards across a range of sectors, alongside protections for the national health service.
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UK-Singapore Investment Treaty
Douglas Alexander Excerpts(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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The Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security (Mr Douglas Alexander)
The Government will shortly end negotiations with Singapore on the UK-Singapore bilateral investment treaty.
Negotiations were launched in March 2023 to strengthen the UK-Singapore investment relationship, through agreeing modern provisions to guarantee high standards of fair treatment for investors, in line with a commitment in the 2020 UK-Singapore free trade agreement. As British investors in Singapore now benefit from the high-standard investment protections gained through our membership of the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership (having formally joined in December 2024), we are ending negotiations on the UK-Singapore BIT. We will instead focus on efforts to further facilitate and promote investment and to boost our economic growth, as well as to build on the stock of UK investment in Singapore, and Singapore’s stock of investment in the UK, which stand at £15.7 billion and £19.3 billion respectively.
The strong co-operative relationship between the UK and Singapore extends beyond investment. On digital trade, seven memoranda of understanding signed alongside the UK-Singapore digital economy agreement facilitate co-operation in several key areas, including fintech and lawtech services. Trade digitalisation pilots conducted under the DEA demonstrated significant business benefits to trade in goods, including a 40% reduction in trade processing time, an 89% reduction in paperwork, and a 67% improvement in staff productivity. We are looking forward to continuing our close collaboration on digital innovation.
To further strengthen our trading relationship, we will continue to work closely with Singapore, as part of CPTPP, to modernise trade rules and promote deeper co-operation with other economies, including through accessions and the general review.
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Arms and Military Cargo Export Controls: Israel
Douglas Alexander Excerpts(1 month, 3 weeks ago)
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The Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security (Mr Douglas Alexander)
I am responding on this issue on behalf of the Government tonight, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr (Steve Witherden) for securing this important and timely debate. Let me address the House this evening by first setting out the Government’s policy, and then setting out our approach to transparency, which formed a key part of my hon. Friend’s contribution.
It is accepted on all sides of this House that, as the Government have made clear, what was witnessed on 7 October 2023 was not an act of liberation, but an act of barbarism by Hamas. Over the many months of this conflict, the UK Government have made the case for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all the hostages detained, the protection of civilians, access for aid and aid workers to Gaza, and the need for a path to long-term peace and security in the region. The responsibility of Hamas is clear, but so too is the appalling humanitarian crisis that has since unfolded in Gaza as a result of Israel’s subsequent actions. The way in which Israel is conducting its operations is indefensible, disproportionate, and—in the view of the UK Government—counterproductive to any lasting peace settlement.
The Government’s policy remains that the only way to secure peace and stability is through an immediate ceasefire, the release of the hostages held captive by Hamas, the protection of civilians, and the lifting of all Israeli restrictions on aid being sent into Gaza. Last month, at the United Nations Security Council, the UK Government made the case for urgent humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, and expressed our outrage at both the killing of Palestinian Red Crescent workers and the strikes on the UN Office for Project Services compound in March. We also issued a statement with 27 international partners on the mechanisms needed to deliver those vital aid supplies, and together with the leaders of France and Canada, we made clear our strong opposition to the latest expansion of Israel’s military operations.
Several hon. Members rose—
Mr Alexander
Let me make a little progress, and then I will be open to interventions.
I turn next to the actions taken by this Government in support of those statements. We have supported the restoration of funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency; we have suspended arms licences; we provided £129 million in humanitarian assistance to the Occupied Palestinian Territories in the last financial year; and we have decided to suspend negotiations on the upgraded free trade agreement with this Israeli Government.
Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)
In the week before last, the Foreign Secretary said that we were suspending arms negotiations with the Israeli Government, yet just last week, we had a trade envoy—Lord Austin—visiting Israel and saying how wonderful it was to be there. Can the Minister please explain how those two matters do not contradict each other?
Mr Alexander
There are long-standing relationships of trade and economics with Israel—for instance, as I understand it, one in eight of the prescribed drugs available through the national health service is provided by an Israeli company. We have taken a clear position of not upgrading the free trade agreement but recognising, for example, that those supplies are important. The trade envoy roles are accountable to the Secretary of State in the Department for Business and Trade, and we were clear that Lord Austin would not directly deal with the Israeli Government when he was there and has no responsibility for the free trade agreement negotiations that otherwise would have been taking place in the coming months.
Several hon. Members rose—
Mr Alexander
Let me make a little more progress, then I will be happy to take further interventions.
I will turn to the specific issue of export licences. On coming into office, the Foreign Secretary commissioned an immediate assessment into Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law. On the basis of that assessment, on 2 September, we suspended arms export licences for items to the Israel Defence Forces that could be used in military operations in Gaza.
As a result of that decision, licences were suspended for a range of military equipment, stopping the export of F-16 fighter aircraft components, of targeting systems and of licensable parts that make unmanned aerial vehicles. That measure is still in place. I reiterate that based on our current assessment of potential breaches of international humanitarian law, we are not licensing military equipment provided directly to the IDF that could be used for military operations in Gaza.
It is right to acknowledge that our export licences granted in relation to Israel cover a wider remit than simply those items that may be used in Gaza. There are a relatively small number of licences for the IDF relating to equipment that we assess would not be used in the current conflict, including, for example, parts for air defence systems that defend Israel from acts such as the major aerial attack from Iran in April 2024.
We also think it is right to continue to provide military grade body armour used by non-governmental organisations and journalists, and to provide parts of the supply chain that are ultimately re-exported out of Israel to support the defence of our NATO allies. The Government are fully committed to upholding our responsibilities under domestic and international law, and have acted in a manner consistent with our legal obligations, including under the arms trade treaty and the genocide convention.
On the global F-35 programme, we are of course facing a critical moment of European security, with war on the continent at our neighbours’ doorsteps. Undermining the F-35 programme at this juncture would, in the Government’s view, disrupt international peace and security, NATO deterrence and European defence as a whole.
Several hon. Members rose—
Mr Alexander
Let me finish the explanation, then I will be happy to take interventions.
Our exporters provide components for the F-35 aircraft to a global spares pool and the common production line for new aircraft, where they have no sight and no control over the specific ultimate end users for their exports. Put plainly, it is not possible to suspend licensing of F-35 components for use by one F-35 nation without ceasing supply to the entire global F-35 programme. It was therefore judged necessary by the Government to exclude F-35 components from the scope of the suspension.
Let me be very clear, however, that the UK Government are not selling F-35 components directly to the Israeli authorities. The licence that allows the export of F-35 components was amended in September to specifically make it clear that direct shipments to Israel for use in Israel are not permitted.
Kirsty Blackman (Aberdeen North) (SNP)
The hon. Member for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr (Steve Witherden) mentioned the Government’s red lines. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade said that there were red lines that would make the Government stop sending F-35 parts, but the Minister has just been clear that it is not possible to stop sending those parts. If the Secretary of State says that there are red lines—and how are we not at those red lines, given what is happening in Gaza—what exactly is going on?
Mr Alexander
We are not directly sending parts to Israel for the F-35s. We are continuing to support the global component pool of the F-35 programme for the reason that I have set out. We as a Government judge that there is a material risk to the security of our NATO allies, and more broadly to European security, if the F-35 aircraft that are used by a number of our allies were no longer able to secure the supplies and the aircraft were therefore no longer able to fly.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
I want to understand who is making the rules about the spare parts pool. Surely if we are trading into that pool, we have a right to set the rules. If those components are going on to F-35s that are being bought by Israel, we have a right to block those parts or to kick Israel out, as we did with Turkey in 2019.
Mr Alexander
We make approximately 15% of the components that contribute to the F-35 programme; it is an international programme of which we are but one partner. We continue to supply the programme because our judgment as a Government is that not doing so would undermine the continuing functioning of the programme, which is in the Government’s view, as I say, of critical importance to European and global security.
Mr Alexander
I have given way several times on that point, so I am keen to make some progress. The Government have made these judgments calmly and soberly, and will continue to do so with full awareness of our responsibility.
Let me now turn to the question of transparency. As the UK Government, we publish quarterly official statistics and an annual report about export licences granted and refused. We provide a searchable database allowing users to produce bespoke reports, drawing on this data, and we are committed to openness on strategic export licensing, which provides the means for Parliament and the public to hold us to account.
Mr Alexander
I am keen to make a little more progress before I take further interventions.
Because these are exceptional circumstances, the Government have heard requests from Members on both sides of the House for us to release further details, including information on licence applications in progress, and as full information as we can disclose on the types of equipment that are covered by each extant licence. Recognising the exceptional nature of this issue and the importance of providing transparent and robust information to ensure that Parliament and the public can hold the Government to account, in December we laid in the Library of the House an exceptional release of export licensing data focused specifically on Israel, setting out plainly how many licences remained extant at that time, how many had been granted since June 2024, and how many had been refused.
In summarising that release, let me assure Members that remaining licences relate to non-military items, military items for civilian use, or items not for use in military operations in Gaza. These licences also extend to components in items for re-export to other countries—that is, those that then leave Israel. Ongoing licensing applications are also decided on that basis. In fact, of the 352 licences extant for Israel, as of 6 December 191 were non-military. They included commercial aircraft components, equipment for private manufacturing firms, and parts for submersible vessels for use in scientific research. That left 161 licences relating to military equipment. However, less than half those related to the Government of Israel or the IDF. Most related either to UK components that private Israeli companies would incorporate before re-exporting an item to a third country, or to military-grade equipment for civilians such as body armour for journalists and NGOs.
I can advise the House that recent reporting on this topic does not provide distinctions between items for civilian and for military use, or between items remaining in Israel and those for re-export. The UK is not allowing the direct export of arms for use in Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
Richard Burgon
The Minister is giving a detailed response, but may I return him to the issue of the international pool of F-35 spares? Is it the Government’s contention that a conditional licence is impossible—that is, that we could provide F-35 spares, but on the basis that they are not then sent to Israel to be used in Gaza?
Mr Alexander
I am acutely conscious of the time, Madam Deputy Speaker. The exclusion from the suspension decision for F-35 components should not, in principle, apply to licences for F-35 components that could be identified as going to Israel for use by Israel. Exports of F-35 components directly to Israel are therefore suspended unless they are for re-export.
Let me return to the specific point that I know has been the subject of much scrutiny in relation to recent reporting outside the House. The majority of military licences approved last year are for components of military items for re-export to third countries, including the UK’s NATO allies, of about £142 million-worth of military goods licensed for Israel and in 2024. The vast majority of that overall value was supporting the production of items for use outside Israel. That includes more than £120 million, or about 85% of the total licence value, for components to support exports of military items from Israeli companies to a single programme for a NATO ally.
These remaining licences have no utility in military operations in Gaza. The suspension of such licences was not required by our export licence criteria, and would have done nothing but harm UK companies and UK businesses engaged in authorised and legal trade. Since September, we have refused all licence applications for military goods that might be used by Israel in the current conflict in line with the suspension decision. More applications were refused in 2024 than in the preceding four years combined.
Question put and agreed to.