Asked by: Mark Ferguson (Labour - Gateshead Central and Whickham)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK-India free trade agreement on Scotland.
Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland
Our trade deal with India is great news for Scotland, increasing exports, growing our economy and securing jobs.
Scottish products will benefit from significant tariff reductions. That includes whisky, where the current 150% tariff will be halved from day one, and reaching just 40% after 10 years. The Scotch Whisky Association has described this as ‘a once in a generation deal and a landmark moment for Scotch Whisky’.
Other Scottish exports including chocolate, biscuits and salmon will reduce from a 33% tariff to 0%.
And did the SNP back this transformation deal for Scotland? Of course not. They didn't back the US or EU deals either.