Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Douglas McAllister and Chris Bryant(1 week, 2 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Douglas McAllister (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab)
For years scotch whisky has faced sky-high import tariffs in India—as high as 150%. The Scotch Whisky Association has described the tariff cuts as “transformational”, and the Scotch whisky industry supports thousands of jobs in my constituency. Does the Minister agree that the increased bilateral trade with India is set to grow the Scottish economy by £190 million a year and is a massive win for the whisky industry, West Dunbartonshire and Scotland?
Chris Bryant
My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I commend him for supporting his constituents. Equally importantly, there are many Scottish products in respect of which we need to ensure that British businesses can take the opportunities the India FTA affords, and build on those so that we can build strong British businesses. We also have geographical identification for Scotch whisky in Argentina. We need to build on these gains around the world.