Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2022 to Question 132234, for what reason sheep meat imports under the terms of the trade deal with Australia measured in product weight whilst sheep meat imports under the terms of the New Zealand trade deal are measured in carcass weight.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
All trade deals are bespoke. The variations in product treatments across the Australia and New Zealand agreements are the product of separate negotiated outcomes. The final signed deals reflect balanced outcomes which include protections to address any UK industry concerns.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether meat imports tonnage restrictions included in the trade deals with Australia and New Zealand are based on carcass or deboned weight.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
All UK meat imports under the UK-Australia deal will be measured in product weight – this is the weight of the final shipped product and is irrespective of the type of cut (meaning it could be a carcass or deboned).
For the New Zealand FTA, all meat imports except for sheep meat will also be measured in product weight. Imports of sheep meat will be measured using carcass weight equivalent. This means sheep meat products will be measured in terms of the whole carcass, rather than the final deboned cut of meat (i.e. the final shipped product weight).
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many applications were made for membership of the Trade Advisory Groups; how many of those applications were rejected; and if she will publish a list of organisations who have applied for a position on a Trade advisory Group.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
Members of Trade Advisory Groups (TAGs) were selected by my Department to make sure that TAGs included representation from across the United Kingdom and from a cross-section of businesses.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the proposed future UK-Australia trade deal on the (a) UK's and (b) EU's ability to agree a veterinary agreement on sanitary and phytosanitary rules on movements of animals and food products.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK-Australia deal protects the rights and freedom of both countries to regulate to uphold standards. Both the UK and Australia agree the importance of independent sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regimes.
The agreement allows the UK to cooperate with both Australia and the EU on avoiding unnecessary SPS barriers to trade in agri-food goods without constraining the UK’s right to regulate in these areas.
The UK’s sovereignty will be fully respected as an independent trading nation.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to impose restrictions on the direct and indirect sale of weapons to Myanmar following the military coup in that country.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
There are sanctions against Myanmar (Burma) already, including an arms embargo and a ban on the export of equipment that might be used for internal repression.
HM Government will not issue export licences for items prohibited by these sanctions.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on adding the Welsh Government to the list of public authorities permitted to disclose information under Clause 2 of the Trade (Disclosure of Information) Act 2020.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for International Trade (DIT) led engagement with the Welsh Government during the passage of the Trade (Disclosure of Information) Bill.
DIT and the Cabinet Office have committed to working closely with devolved administrations. This will ensure that relevant analysis and information obtained through Clause 2 can be shared to support the delivery of devolved functions. This has been communicated at Ministerial level to devolved administrations.
Our close working with Welsh Government colleagues led them to recommend legislative consent during the passage of the Trade (Disclosure of Information) Bill, and to the Welsh Parliament to grant a legislative consent motion.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will publish an impact assessment of the effect of the UK-Singapore trade agreement on Wales.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Consistent with other transitioned agreements, the Department will lay a Parliamentary Report, with Explanatory Memorandum, alongside the UK–Singapore text in Parliament. These reports are intended to aid businesses, consumers and parliamentarians in understanding any significant differences made to our trade relationship with partner countries and the reasons for any changes, and their impact.
Our Parliamentary Reports contain detailed information about the volume of trade, composition of imports and exports, and wider economic impact of these agreements. However, they do not assess the impact on specific regions or nations of the UK.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will publish an impact assessment of the effect of the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement on Wales.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to an inclusive and transparent trade policy. We have published an impact assessment for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Japan, setting out the potential economic impacts on all nations and regions of the UK, including Wales.
Further details on this analysis are set out in our published impact assessment and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-japan-cepa-final-impact-assessment.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the membership of the Trade and Agriculture Commission will contain representatives from the (a) Welsh Government, (b) Scottish Government and (c) Northern Ireland Executive.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Secretary of State for International Trade signalled her intention to establish a new Trade and Agriculture Commission on 29 June. The Commission will have a fixed term to consider trade policies that Government should adopt to secure opportunities for UK farmers, producers and exporters. The Commission will ensure the sector remains competitive and that animal welfare and environmental standards in food production are not undermined. At the end of its work, the Trade and Agriculture Commission will produce an advisory report which will be presented to Parliament by the Department for International Trade.
Details around the Commission’s membership and Terms of Reference are currently being finalised and we will inform Parliament as soon as all these details are confirmed.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to ensure that there are representatives of the devolved Administrations on the Trade Remedies Authority.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) Board will be crucial to safeguarding the TRA’s impartiality and making sure that it acts in the interest of all parts of the United Kingdom.
We are engaging with the devolved administrations, in line with HM Government’s commitments during the passage of the Trade Bill in 2017-18, and recently sought their proposals on recruiting TRA Board Members with knowledge of the United Kingdom as a whole, a broad range of skills and diverse experience. However, it is essential that members are appointed on merit, rather than due to their affiliations with any particular part of the United Kingdom or special interest group.