Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 for Northern Ireland of the New Zealand trade deal.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Department’s impact assessment of the UK-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement was published on 28th February 2022 and includes impacts on the UK’s nations and regions, including Northern Ireland. The impact assessment can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-new-zealand-fta-impact-assessment
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps the Government is taking to tackle labour shortages in farming; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential effect of those shortages on trade deals.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Government has announced that the seasonal worker visa route will be extended to 2024 to allow overseas workers to come to the UK for up to six months to harvest both edible and ornamental crops. 30,000 visas will be available. This will be kept under review with the potential to increase by 10,000 if necessary.
The Government is also working with industry to raise awareness of career opportunities within the food and farming sectors to attract more UK workers. The Government does not expect any impacts of temporary labour shortages on our future trade agenda.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to her Department's press release of 26 November 2021, DIT removes 20% more trade barriers to unlock major markets for British business, what assessment she has made of the effect of removal of 217 trade barriers across 74 countries in 2020–21 on British trade.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
Reducing trade barriers enables countless British businesses to export goods and services around the world with greater ease and at lower cost. Specific analysis of 66 barriers that the Department for International Trade resolved in the last financial year showed they were linked to £2.9 billion of exports.
In total, we resolved 217 barriers in the last financial year and we continue to remove barriers to help businesses benefit from the related trading opportunities. Recent successes include securing access for poultry meat to Japan, estimated to be worth £65million over the first 5 years of trade, a particular benefit for farmers and producers in Northern Ireland, along with others across the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to UK trade: November 2021, published 14 January 2021, that showed total export of goods, including precious metals, decreased by £0.3 billion in November 2021, what steps she is taking to reverse the reduction in the export of goods.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
Since the beginning of 2020, aggregate global trade flows have been lower, driven by the COVID pandemic. However, provisional ONS data from 11th February shows a £1.1 billion (3.9%) increase in our goods exports in December 2021, compared to November 2021 (excluding precious metals). This includes a £1 billion (7.4%) increase in goods exports to the EU.
On a more stable annual basis, our goods exports (excluding precious metals) increased £14.5 billion (4.9%) in 2021, compared to 2020. Projections suggest that we will reach £1 trillion in exports annually by the mid-2030s.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent assessment she has made of the potential effect of a UK-US free trade agreement on living standards for households across the UK.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
A UK-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) could have a significant positive impact on living standards for households across the UK due to potential wage rises combined with lower prices for goods imported from the US. The Department for International Trade (DIT) analysis published in 2020 shows that an ambitious FTA with the US could deliver a £15.3 billion increase in bilateral trade and a £3.4 billion lift to the UK economy. DIT’s analysis also suggests productivity gains from a UK-US FTA could contribute to wage increases of up to £1.8 billion for UK workers in the long run.
Further detail can be found in the report on https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uks-approach-to-trade-negotiations-with-the-us
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to her Department's press release of 26 November 2021 entitled DIT removes 20 per cent more trade barriers to unlock major markets for British business, what assessment she has made of impact of the removal of trade barriers on levels of British trade in the last six months.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Department for International Trade helped to remove 217 barriers in 2020/2021. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/market-access-barrier-statistics/market-access-barrier-statistics-financial-year-2020-to-2021
We continue to remove barriers and support businesses to benefit from the related trading opportunities. Recent successes include securing access for poultry meat to Japan, estimated to be worth £65million over the first 5 years of trade to farmers and producers across Britain.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department is taking to support UK small and medium enterprise engineering firms to reach a global market.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Department for International Trade’s (DIT) refreshed Export Strategy supports HM Government’s ambition to unlock innovation and growth across the UK. The Strategy focuses on barriers faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including engineering firms, helping them access opportunities in new markets. DIT is seeking SME chapters and SME-friendly provisions throughout all our Free Trade Agreements.
British engineering SMEs can access support throughout their export journey from DIT’s Export Support Service, UK Export Academy, UK Export Finance and our global networks. Our Trade and Investment offices in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh bring support closer to business.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to ensure that UK farmers' produce is protected in trade deals negotiated with other countries around the world.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
HM Government will always consider the opportunities and other impacts on the agricultural industry of any trade agreement we negotiate. In addition, the independent Trade and Agriculture Commission will scrutinise new free trade agreements once they are signed, providing an additional layer of independent scrutiny.
Our trade agreements unlock new opportunities for our agriculture, food and drink sector and we will continue to work with producers and suppliers to make sure the sector is represented in future free trade agreements.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions she has had with her Indian counterpart on increasing bilateral trade and strengthening economic ties.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
Strengthening the United Kingdom-India bilateral trade relationship to support jobs and economic growth across the country is a priority for HM Government.
Ministers are in regular contact with our counterparts to make progress on a future bilateral Free Trade Agreement, building on our Enhanced Trade Partnership announced by my Rt Hon. Friend the Prime Minister in May 2021, as well as wider trade ambitions set out in the United Kingdom-India 2030 Roadmap.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when she plans to complete the trade deal with New Zealand.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Government reached agreement in principle on a free trade agreement with New Zealand on 20 October 2021. We are currently working towards signature and finalising the text of the treaty with New Zealand; as well as performing a legal scrub of the text, in accordance with what was agreed at agreement in principle.