UK-Israel Trade Negotiations

Greg Smith Excerpts

Thursday 20th January 2022 Westminster Hall

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Paisley. It is an equal pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Southport (Damien Moore), who delivered a powerful speech that I entirely endorse, particularly those parts towards the end of his remarks about the dangerous nature of those who seek to boycott Israel in trade, which has a knock-on impact on peace, people’s jobs and prosperity. I also congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) on securing the debate and on setting out the case so eloquently and powerfully at the start of it. The facts and case studies that he outlined speak for themselves.

Israel has cemented itself as a major economic partner of our United Kingdom and is on an upward trajectory, and a more extensive trade deal between two of the world’s most technologically advanced economies will reap enormous benefits for both nations as well as the wider world. We have heard how omnipresent Israeli-made technology is in our day-to-day lives in the United Kingdom, and I was interested to learn recently that many of the banking transactions made by customers online or via smartphones are protected by Israeli-made software running in the background. From digital printers to USB sticks—they might seem like old hat now—and car safety cameras, Israelis have played a huge role in the rapid advancement of our digital economy and digital society in recent decades. Tesco recently opened its first fully autonomous store in London after partnering with the Israeli company Trigo, which uses computer vision technology and advanced artificial intelligence algorithms to enable shoppers to choose their items and leave without having to stop at the tills, providing a seamless experience and saving time. I look forward to visiting Israel in the near future to see for myself more of the exciting technologies and the companies, scientists and innovators behind them.

Now that we are free of the European Union, the opportunity afforded to us to become a proud free-trading nation, with one of the world’s largest and most forward-thinking economies, must not be wasted. I join hon. Members of different parties who have spoken in the debate—I notice that the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) has left the room, but I endorse his speech as well—in urging the Government to make concerted efforts to secure the much-anticipated deal with Israel as early as time affords.

Tourism should be an important consideration for the trade talks ahead. Prior to the pandemic, Israel was establishing itself as a go-to destination for many Brits, and the UK remains ever popular with tourists from Israel. Travel between the countries has become so popular in recent years that we have seen the likes of Virgin Atlantic open a route, Wizz Air about to expand its number of flights to Israel, and Israel become one of easyJet’s busiest routes.

I join other speakers in welcoming the important work of the UK-Israel tech hub, which connects businesses in both countries, but there is so much more that can be done to support British companies seeking to increase their presence in Israel. As I conclude my remarks, I ask the Minister what action he is taking to explore those further ways to expand this market and to support British businesses in my constituency and beyond to partner with Israeli companies. I am extremely optimistic about this unique opportunity for our two countries to negotiate an ambitious and wider free trade agreement that looks to the future. I look forward to hearing from the Minister when he expects the consultation to begin.