Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will provide details her Department holds on the programme and priorities of the World’s Trade Organization’s Trade and Environment Group; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK is an active member of the World Trade Organization’s Committee on Trade and Environment, currently chaired by the UK’s ambassador Simon Manley. Through this group, we are enhancing transparency, defending UK policy interests and promoting consensus on best practice alongside other members.
The UK is also participating in ambitious plurilateral groups such as the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution, the Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform Initiative, and the Trade and Environmentally Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD) where we are advocating for collective agreement to remove barriers and lower costs on environmental goods, and find solutions to help mitigate carbon leakage risk.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of the UK requesting a carve out of Investor State Dispute Mechanisms inherent to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership when negotiating the UK’s accession to the CPTPP; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The precise details of any future free trade agreement are a matter of negotiation; we would not seek to pre-empt these discussions.
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership’s (CPTPP’s) investment chapter includes investor protections that are backed by a modern and transparent investor state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism. These commitments guarantee the treatment investors will receive when accessing and operating in CPTPP markets and provides an independent form of legal redress should investors not receive such treatment.
The UK has 90+ Bilateral Investment Treaties in force with ISDS and has never received a successful claim nor has the threat of potential claims affected our legislation.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate her Department has made of the percentage change in the price of imported garlic from China as a result of the upcoming changes to the Tariff Rate Quota; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Earlier this year, the Government concluded negotiations with China under Article 28 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. In these negotiations the UK is using historic trade data to ensure that the tariff rate quota volumes in our World Trade Organization Goods Schedule provide continuity for traders. The upcoming change has been made on this basis and therefore is not expected to affect the price of imported garlic from China.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of conducting environmental impact assessments on future trade agreements that the Government seeks to negotiate; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has committed to producing scoping assessments which are published at the point of launching a negotiation. These include a preliminary assessment of the potential implications for the environment. It has also committed to publishing an impact assessment at the point of signature, which include a more detailed assessment of the likely environmental impacts.
The Government will continue to assess environmental impacts in these documents. It also runs public consultations ahead of commencing trade negotiations on any new trade agreement.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the potential benefits of the UK joining the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK recognises the value of the ongoing negotiations between Agreement on Climate Change, Trade & Sustainability (ACCTS) members on new trade and climate commitments that would apply unilaterally (e.g. not only between ACCTS members). We are not seeking to join at present, but to tackle trade and environmental issues through discussions with as many partners as possible.
Global problems require global solutions, and we are therefore progressing these matters through multilateral organisations, particularly at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD), a plurilateral WTO group made up of 74 members.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December to Question 93431 on Trade Agreements: Japan, when each (a) committee and (b) working group established by the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement has met.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The following committees, under the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, were last held on the following dates:
The next Working Group on Trade and Women's Economic Empowerment is planned for January 2023. The Government is in discussions with Japan about appropriate dates for other committees.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the potential benefits of the UK joining the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Government analysis and extensive engagement with industry supported our decision not to seek to accede to the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean (PEM) Convention in parallel to our negotiations with the EU. Instead, we negotiated a deal with the EU that is tailored to the make-up of our economy. In all our trade deals we tailor our approach to rules of origin to support businesses. This has included use of modernised PEM rules, for example in our free trade agreements with Switzerland and EEA-EFTA States. The Government does not have any plans to change this position.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December to Question 93431 on Trade Agreements: Japan, when each (a) committee and (b) working groups established by the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement plans to meet.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The following committees, under the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, were last held on the following dates:
The next Working Group on Trade and Women's Economic Empowerment is planned for January 2023. The Government is in discussions with Japan about appropriate dates for other committees.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the TRIPS waiver to include COVID-19 tests and treatments.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I refer the Hon. Member for Harrow West to the answer I gave to him on 17 October 2022, UIN: 61708.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to Article 20.4 of the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, on which date the Japanese Government provided the details of their contact point to the UK; and when her Department provided the contact details of their contact point to the Japanese Government.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK and Japan exchanged contact points for all areas of the agreement in December 2020. Japan shared contact points with the UK on the 18 December 2020. The UK shared contact points with Japan on the 24 December 2020.
The UK small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) contact points have attended all meetings of the Committees and Working Groups established by the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. The contact points for UK and Japan have not met to specifically discuss SMEs, but have discussed more generally utilisation of the Free Trade Agreement by business.