Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to (a) the Prime Minister's oral contribution of 16 June 2021, Official Report, column 287, (b) the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of 12 January 2021, Official Report, column 162, (c) the Answer of 25 June 2021 to Question 16783 on Import Controls: China, (d) the Answers of 5 July 2021 to Questions 24880 and 24881, (e) the Answer of 12 July 2021 to Question 28048 and (f) in accordance with the Prime Minister's oral contribution of 7 July 2021, Official Report, column 901, if she will clarify whether the UK (i) has or (ii) plans to implement import controls on goods made in China believed to be the product of forced labour.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
HM Government is committed to tackling the issue of forced labour in global supply chains, including through strengthening the Modern Slavery Act, and the introduction of financial penalties for businesses that fail to meet their statutory obligations.
Whilst we do not have plans to place import controls on goods from China, we have announced a range of other measures, including a comprehensive review of export controls. We are working closely with international partners too. Last month, under our G7 Presidency, G7 leaders committed to work together to make sure that global supply chains are free from the use of forced labour.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the oral contribution of the Prime Minister of 16 June 2021, Official Report, what progress her Department has made on implementing import controls on goods from China to the UK which are believed to be the product of forced labour including in the supply chain.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
On 12th January, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary announced a series of measures to help make sure that British businesses and the public sector are in no way complicit in violations of rights and responsibilities in Xinjiang.
This included a review of export controls to make sure we are doing all we can to prevent the export of goods that may contribute to such violations. This review is ongoing and we will report its outcome to Parliament in due course.
Import controls and export controls are governed by different processes and legislation. HM Government has only announced plans to review export controls. We do not have plans to place import controls on goods from China at present.