Oral Answers to Questions

Graham Stuart Excerpts

Thursday 3rd September 2020 Commons Chamber

[David Simmonds (Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner) (Con)]

What steps her Department is taking to support UK exporters to help the economy recover from the covid-19 pandemic.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Trade (Graham Stuart)]

My hon. Friend is right to highlight the importance of exporters to the country’s economic recovery from covid. My Department is working closely with business to develop a new export strategy, deliver bounce-back plans for key sectors, sign free trade agreements with countries covering 80% of our trade, strengthen our regional teams to level up exporting success and challenge market access barriers whenever and wherever in the world they are found.

[David Simmonds]

The many exporters in Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner are grateful for the support from Government. Will my hon. Friend outline the measures that UK Export Finance is taking in particular to support export businesses with their recovery?

[Graham Stuart]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for highlighting UK Export Finance. It had its 100th anniversary last year and it is repeatedly voted the best export finance agency in the world. It has a range of products and trade experts across the four UK nations and in key locations globally—we have increased that number—making it ideally positioned to support UK exporters and their overseas customers during the pandemic. UKEF, as well as having an established and successful roster of products, is addressing the emerging needs of UK exporters and has come forward with new products, most notably recently the export development guarantee, which provides general working capital and capex to support the operations of eligible exporters, following a successful pilot. I am delighted to say that UKEF has so far provided EDG support to both Jaguar Land Rover and Ford Britain worth £500 million each, and more is in the pipeline, not least for small and medium-sized enterprises.

[Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

The Minister will know that businesses are concerned about the double disruption of covid and the end of the Brexit transition. The Government said that they would secure the rollover deals we need to replace those we enjoyed with more than 40 countries and trade blocs as members of the EU. Failure will leave business with increased costs, barriers and red tape, but in the last four years the Department has concluded just half the agreements it wants and not a single one since the start of this year. Will the Minister tell the House not how many are in discussion but how many will be secured in the remaining four months?

[Graham Stuart]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. As he knows, the vast majority of the trade covered by those deals has already been secured in existing deals. Work continues and I am delighted to say that we continue to talk to those countries, as well as, as the original question suggested, supporting exporters, not least Edwin Jagger Limited, for instance, in his own constituency. That company is of particular note and could be of use to him, because it specialises in wet shaving and grooming. If it is good enough for the Chinese and the Americans, I suggest he that gets around to his local supplier.

[Mr Speaker]

Question 12 has been withdrawn.

--- Later in debate ---

[Shaun Bailey (West Bromwich West) (Con)]

What steps her Department is taking to help businesses increase exports to non-EU countries.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Trade (Graham Stuart)]

It is noticeable that, unlike the Opposition, my hon. Friend champions business, champions the UK’s independent trade policy and thus champions the livelihoods of midlands workers. Ninety per cent of global growth is expected to be outside Europe over the next years and we are doing everything we can to support firms, not least in West Bromwich, to start or grow exports whether through signing trade deals, developing a new export strategy or boosting our on the ground network of international trade advisers.

[Shaun Bailey (West Bromwich West) (Con)]

It is clear that, with £3.8 billion-worth of exports, the Black Country is, as I have always said, the workshop of the United Kingdom. What work is my hon. Friend doing with local stakeholders, including our west midlands Mayor, Andy Street, to ensure that around the world people will once again see the words “Made in the Black Country”?

[Graham Stuart]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Working with partners in an increasingly devolved United Kingdom is so important to delivering the export success that all of us, at least on Government side of the House, crave. I am pleased to say that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met Andy Street extremely recently to discuss our programme of FTAs and the benefits they can bring to the region, and we will continue to support businesses across the midlands—not least Westfield Sports Cars in Kingswinford, near my hon. Friend’s constituency, which is exploring new opportunities in places like the US, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

[Sir Mark Hendrick (Preston) (Lab/Co-op)]

What progress the Government have made with negotiations on a trade agreement with the US.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jerome Mayhew (Broadland) (Con)]

What steps her Department is taking to help the food and farming sector recover from the covid-19 pandemic.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Trade (Graham Stuart)]

The agriculture, food and drink sector is the UK’s largest manufacturing industry and supports about 4 million jobs. With exports worth £23.8 billion last year, we are determined to see this success continue. So on 22 June, alongside the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and business, I was delighted to launch an agriculture, food and drink bounce-back plan to drive exports and recovery from covid.

[Kevin Hollinrake]

My father was a hill farmer, so it was a pleasure to meet a group of hill farmers in Bilsdale in my constituency, together with British Wool, which tells me that farm-gate prices for fleeces are down by 90% this year—so farmers are better off burning them than transporting them. Will British wool feature in a future free trade agreement?

[Graham Stuart]

I thank my hon. Friend, who stands up for Yorkshire farmers whether of sheep or other products. This Government will stand firm in trade negotiations, and we will always do right by our farmers and aim to secure new opportunities for the industry. We are also engaging with stakeholders such as the National Sheep Association through the agri-food trade advisory group. During our negotiations, DIT is also supporting interiors and apparel textiles manufacturers who use British wool at leading international trade fairs such as Heimtextil.

[Steve Double]

Cornwall is proud to produce some of the finest and most sought-after food and drink, but the sector has been hit hard as a result of the pandemic. Will the Minister lay out how food producers in Cornwall, and indeed around the country, will benefit from the agri-food bounce-back package that he mentioned?

[Graham Stuart]

The bounce-back package, as I say, was launched in June. It facilitates additional access for small businesses’ products to UK Export Finance. It launched a suite of export masterclasses and webinars to overcome some of the lack of understanding of opportunities in foreign markets and of the challenges that are faced in entering them. It will further boost our trade efforts ahead of new opportunities that will also be presented by our FTAs.

Already, a series of over 20 agri-food export masterclasses targeted at small and medium-sized enterprises has been delivered, and that programme will continue throughout this year. My Department is working, through our international trade adviser network, to support my hon. Friend’s local Cornish food and drink companies to access virtual meet-the-buyer events and UKAP—United Kingdom agricultural policy—webinars, which will be launched in the autumn and come out of the plan that we worked with industry to create.

[Jerome Mayhew]

We all recognise that a free trade agreement with the United States of America has enormous potential to benefit UK farming, not least by opening up a market of 328 million potential customers, but it does come with some risks, not least the potential import of clinically safe but lower food standard meat products. Will my hon. Friend update the House on what success he is having in maximising the benefits and minimising those risks?

[Graham Stuart]

As the Secretary of State has made clear—sufficiently slowly, I hope, for the Scottish National party spokesman—all existing food standards are enshrined in UK law and no trade deal will be able to change that legal position. I can assure my hon. Friend that those standards will be maintained, and I hope that his constituents are not alarmed by the consistent scare- mongering from Opposition parties.

I am delighted to say that we will see beef shipping to the United States imminently. It is worth noting that at the moment there are no lamb sales into the US, which is the second largest importer of lamb in the world. These are the prizes that we are after; these are the prizes that we are delivering.

[Stephen Flynn (Aberdeen South) (SNP)]

What progress she made on the Government’s trade and investment priorities during recent discussions with her Japanese counterpart.

[Neale Hanvey (Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath) (SNP)]

What progress she made on the Government’s trade and investment priorities during recent discussions with her Japanese counterpart.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Trade (Graham Stuart)]

Direct talks on the UK-Japan FTA between Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State took place on 6 and 7 August, and I am pleased to say that they reached consensus on the major elements. We are in the final stage of negotiations and are optimistic about reaching an agreement in the coming weeks. Both sides are committed to a deal coming into force by the end of this year.

[Stephen Flynn]

The UK’s own forecasts indicate that a trade deal with Japan will be worth a whopping 0.07% of GDP growth in the long term. In the meantime, leaving the EU single market and customs union will impact GDP growth by 5%. We know that the EU has a trade deal with Japan, so can the Minister explain to viewers in Scotland, who voted overwhelmingly to remain in the European Union, why those figures are such a positive thing?

[Graham Stuart]

The benefit of trade deals is that they reduce the barriers to trade. As the hon. Gentleman will know, the EU-Japan trade deal has only recently come into force. I am delighted to say that the model deal that we are looking to secure with Japan is more ambitious; it goes further, not least on digital and data aspects, which will be tremendously important to the growing and strengthening tech scene in Scotland and beyond.

[Neale Hanvey]

As my hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen South (Stephen Flynn) just mentioned, Japan accounts for around 2% of the UK’s total exports. The EU is worth more than 20 times that and already has a trade deal with Japan. With many talks stalling, the UK is on track for a slew of bad deals, or simply no deal at all. Is it not now time for the Government, given their summer of U-turns on the covid crisis, to admit that their Brexit bluff has been called and urgently review this, in the light of the impact that disruption to trade, jobs and livelihoods, and the UK’s covid recovery, will have?

[Graham Stuart]

I do not know who wrote the hon. Gentleman’s question, but it is clear that they are hanging on desperately to the idea that there should be a failure. Overwhelmingly, the continuity agreements have been rolled over. We have opportunities, not least with Japan, to go further and have a more ambitious programme, as well as to set new standards through deals with Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

It is noticeable that in all the years that the EU has been in charge of our trade policy, it has never signed an FTA with the world’s largest economy, let alone the next largest economies in the world. The truth is that it is dawning on the hon. Gentleman and his separatist, schismatic colleagues that they are going to see not a failure of our trade policy but a success.

[Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)]

What progress she has made on free trade agreement negotiations with Australia.

--- Later in debate ---

[Chris Loder (West Dorset) (Con)]

In my constituency of West Dorset, 97% of businesses are small or micro-sized. Will the Minister tell me what the Government are doing to make sure that those small and micro-sized businesses will benefit from the many trade deals we are going to sign?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Trade (Graham Stuart)]

We will use our new FTAs precisely to support the priority asks of UK small and microbusinesses that export goods and services around the world, including increased transparency on rules and regulations; international co-operation to support SMEs; and the securing of FTAs that benefit the whole UK economy, not just the largest players.

[Christian Matheson (City of Chester) (Lab)]

The appointment of the sexist and homophobic Tony Abbott is also the appointment of a climate change denier. Does that indicate that the Government are moving away from any commitment in trade deals to maintaining environmental protection? If not, why have they put him in the job?