Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many joint trade reviews conducted with other countries in the last 12 months have resulted in the UK reaching agreement on free trade arrangements to come into force after the UK leaves the EU; and with which countries those free trade agreements have been concluded.
Answered by Baroness Fairhead
The UK cannot negotiate and conclude trade agreements while we are still a member of the EU.
Joint Trade Reviews are a collaborative in-depth analysis into the mutual trading relationship between the UK and our partners to look for areas we can improve our bilateral trading relationships. We will aim through these discussions to put in place various mechanisms to improve trading relations, remove barriers affecting UK businesses and bring benefits to UK consumers after we leave the EU.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to publish full details of the independent UK trade remedies framework.
Answered by Baroness Fairhead
The UK is committed to a rules-based international trade system and is in the process of establishing the Trade Remedies Authority to ensure that UK businesses continue to be protected from unfair and injurious trade practices and injury caused by unforeseen surges in imports once we leave the EU. The framework under which the Trade Remedies Authority will operate is set out in the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Bill due for the Report Stage in the House of Commons on Monday 16th July. Further details will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to requesting a World Trade Organisation dispute panel be established to settle the dispute with the United States over recently announced tariffs on steel and aluminium.
Answered by Baroness Fairhead
Whilst we remain a Member State, the EU is responsible for initiating and defending trade disputes on the UK's behalf. Therefore, the UK cannot, at the moment, initiate a dispute of its own accord. The EU launched a WTO dispute, challenging US steel and aluminium tariffs on 1 June. The UK fully supports the global rules-based trade system, open and free trade, and measures to tackle unfair trade where necessary.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to begin the process of recruitment for staff and members of the board of the Trade Remedies Authority, as provided for by the Trade Bill.
Answered by Baroness Fairhead
The Department for International Trade expects to start the recruitment process for staff, and a Chair, as soon as possible in 2018, in anticipation of the creation of the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA). This will support the Government’s commitment to ensure that the TRA will be operational by the time the UK leaves the EU.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in trade talks with Mexico; and at what level those talks are taking place.
Answered by Baroness Fairhead
As we leave the EU, we are seeking continuity in our current trade arrangements in order to avoid any disruption and to provide certainty for businesses and individuals. To date, meetings have been held at ministerial and official level aimed at delivering this objective.
None of the partner countries, including Mexico, with whom we have held discussions, have any interest in disrupting trade flows.
Once trade continuity is secured, we will look to strengthen our trade and investment relationships with key partners, including Mexico.
Whilst we remain a member of the EU, discussions we have about trade are limited by our obligations under the Common Commercial Policy and our duty of sincere co-operation.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likely impact on the UK's ability to strike a free trade agreement with Mexico, of the recent free trade agreements that the EU has agreed with that country.
Answered by Baroness Fairhead
As we leave the EU, we are seeking continuity in our current trade arrangements in order to avoid any disruption and to provide certainty for businesses and individuals. To date, meetings have been held at ministerial and official level aimed at delivering this objective.
None of the partner countries, including Mexico, with whom we have held discussions, have any interest in disrupting trade flows.
Once trade continuity is secured, we will look to strengthen our trade and investment relationships with key partners, including Mexico.
Whilst we remain a member of the EU, discussions we have about trade are limited by our obligations under the Common Commercial Policy and our duty of sincere co-operation.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in trade talks with Japan and Singapore; and at what level those talks are taking place.
Answered by Baroness Fairhead
As we leave the EU, we are seeking continuity in our current trade arrangements in order to avoid any disruption and to provide certainty for businesses and individuals.
The UK has long-supported progress towards the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement and EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), as one of their strongest advocates.
The Prime Minister has agreed with Prime Minister Abe of Japan that we will work quickly to establish a new economic partnership between Japan and the UK based on the final terms of the EPA, and has agreed with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee that, when ratified, the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement would be a good baseline for future bilateral trade relations. The Department for International Trade is continuing discussions with both Japan and Singapore through our Trade and Investment Working Groups to ensure continuity and certainty of these trade agreements and to develop new ambitious bilateral economic relationships once the UK has exited the EU.
Whilst we remain a member of the EU, discussions we have about trade are limited by our obligations under the Common Commercial Policy and our duty of sincere co-operation.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likely impact on the UK's ability to strike free trade agreements with Japan and Singapore, of the recent free trade agreements the EU has agreed with those countries.
Answered by Baroness Fairhead
As we leave the EU, we are seeking continuity in our current trade arrangements in order to avoid any disruption and to provide certainty for businesses and individuals.
The UK has long-supported progress towards the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement and EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), as one of their strongest advocates.
The Prime Minister has agreed with Prime Minister Abe of Japan that we will work quickly to establish a new economic partnership between Japan and the UK based on the final terms of the EPA, and has agreed with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee that, when ratified, the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement would be a good baseline for future bilateral trade relations. The Department for International Trade is continuing discussions with both Japan and Singapore through our Trade and Investment Working Groups to ensure continuity and certainty of these trade agreements and to develop new ambitious bilateral economic relationships once the UK has exited the EU.
Whilst we remain a member of the EU, discussions we have about trade are limited by our obligations under the Common Commercial Policy and our duty of sincere co-operation.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the ability of the UK to make sector-specific trade agreements with other nations in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a trade deal and reverts to World Trade Organisation rules.
Answered by Baroness Fairhead
The UK is talking to a number of countries about future trading options, and it is too early to say what this will mean in a particular case or with any particular country.
As one of the world's largest economies, we have the chance to work with old and new partners to build a truly Global Britain at the heart of international trade.
We are using instruments like Joint Trade Reviews, a collaborative in-depth analysis into the mutual trading relationship between the UK and a partner country, to look for areas we can improve our bilateral trading relationships.
We will aim, through these discussions, to put in place various mechanisms to improve trading relations and remove barriers affecting UK businesses.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to offer quotas to countries that currently benefit from the 87 EU Tariff Rate Quotas; and if so, for each quota, whether they expect it to be larger or smaller than at present
Answered by Lord Price
The Government is preparing UK-specific WTO schedules which, as far as possible, will not alter the scope of UK market access obligations either in goods or services. This includes the market access currently enjoyed by trading partners under tariff rate quotas. The schedules will be circulated to the WTO membership, as the UK leaves the European Union. Following circulation if no objection has been raised within 3 months for goods and 45 days for services, the schedules will be certified. If an objection is raised the schedules will still come into effect but remain uncertified while we resolve it. An uncertified schedule does not stop a WTO member from trading with other countries or from negotiating Free Trade Agreements. The EU has traded without problem for many years whilst waiting for revised schedules to be certified.