Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department has taken to increase foreign investment in the UK’s green industries.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
On 19th October Her Majesty the Queen and the Prime Minister hosted the UK’s Global Investment Summit which was held in London and attended by over 170 global investors and decision makers.
The event was used to showcase that the UK is open for business and the country’s green and clean growth capabilities aligned to the Prime Minister’s 10-Point Plan. During the event, the Prime Minister also announced over £9billion of foreign investment across the UK in multiple clean and green sectors.
The Department for International Trade also launched the new Investment Atlas – an online platform designed to help international investors identify investment opportunities across the whole of the UK. The Atlas was launched with 53 initial strategic investment opportunities, each with a strong sustainability element aligned with the key themes set out in the Prime Minister’s 10-point plan. The number of opportunities will continue to grow over the coming months.
The Department, together with Office for Investment, are now working with No.10 colleagues to ensure that HM Government can capitalise on the momentum and legacy of this historic event.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what progress her Department has made in securing free trade agreements.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
We have made great progress in securing trade deals around the world; to date, we have agreed deals with 70 countries, plus the EU, covering trade worth £766 billion last year.
This year, we signed a new deal with the European Economic Area (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) and we have reached Agreement-in-Principle with both Australia and New Zealand.
We have begun the accession process for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP); are preparing for negotiations with India, Canada and Mexico; and have also launched a public consultation on a trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council. We are due to begin work next year on an enhanced and improved FTA with Israel too.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department is taking to increase exports.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The refreshed Export Strategy, launched on 17 November as part of International Trade Week, is an action-led 12-point plan that reflects the Government’s commitment to drive an exports-led economic recovery. It will encourage businesses across the UK to seize the export opportunities created by our new independent trade policy and market access work. HM Government will work in partnership with business to help them realise the benefits of international trade, by improving their capability and skills to export, internationalising key trading sectors, and raising the UK’s exporting culture.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department has taken to (a) reduce bureaucracy and (b) increase opportunities for British businesses internationally.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Through the Export Strategy, the Department is working across government to identify areas where we can reduce the regulatory burden, including through initiatives like the Single Trade Window. The Export Support Service provides a single point of entry for advice and support for businesses who export or wish to do so, and the Export Academy offers training on the technicalities of exporting such as Preferential Tariffs.
The Export Strategy is aligned with our independent trade policy, creating opportunities and making exporting easier for business by helping to deepen our bilateral relations and increase market access.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department has taken to increase exports of financial services.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
HM Government is committed to championing export opportunities for the Financial Services sector, where the UK is an existing global leader. We have done this by promoting Financial Services Trade and Investment, through targeted export campaigns supporting specific UK financial services. The Government has also signed ambitious progressive Free Trade Agreements, which will open new markets and reduce market access barriers for British financial services.
The Department for International Trade (DIT) has also recently published its updated Export Strategy, which outlines Government support available for British exporters, including financial services.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department has taken to increase services and digital trade.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Services are the predominant driver of the UK economy, contributing 80% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2019 and employing over 26 million people (approximately 80% of total employment). Our Free Trade Agreement (FTA) programme continually seeks a gold standard in services and digital trade, providing greater access to overseas markets for UK service businesses and making it easier to trade digitally.
Using our newly independent seat at the World Trade Organization (WTO), the UK is also actively engaged in a range of multilateral and plurilateral fora designed to further liberalise trade in services and create global rules for digital trade. Alongside the WTO, the UK also uses other multilateral groups such as the G7 and G20 to drive forward our ambitious trade agenda. Most recently, the UK led the G7’s first ever ‘trade track’, bringing countries together to agree a set of ground-breaking Digital Trade Principles.
The Department also has a range of programmes designed to help British companies export. The recently announced Export Strategy outlines our ambition for trade in services, supported by promoting the role of services and digital trade within our FTA negotiations. Export campaigns such as in Financial, Professional and Business Services and the Creative Industries encourage companies nationwide to increase services exports and the Digital Exporting Programme is helping UK companies increase exports through digital commerce.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what progress her Department has made in trade negotiations with Canada.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
HM Government ran a successful Call for Input over the summer, which asked businesses, non-governmental organisations and the public for their priorities in trade between the United Kingdom and Canada. We are now developing the British negotiating mandate. Before negotiations begin, we will publish our formal response to the Call for Input and our overarching objectives for the negotiations. HM Government of Canada is currently going through a similar process. We look forward to formally commencing talks next year.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate she has made of the accumulated investment results achieved by each Trade Envoy.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy Programme supports British businesses overseas and attracts investment into the UK. The programme works in collaboration with other trade promotion activities and it focuses on emerging and high growth markets where additional senior interactions can be valuable, or larger economies where multiple interactions at different levels are effective.
There is no verifiable way to quantify the investment results achieved by each Trade Envoy given they work in collaboration with our other activities to promote investment into the UK. The Department for International Trade’s most recent published foreign direct investment results can be found in the annual report:
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the cost to the public purse has been of each Trade Envoy since their appointment, to date.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Trade Envoys are unpaid. Total expenditure for the trade envoy programme since its launch in November 2012 has been £987,153.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on trade priorities for the UK’s G7 presidency.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade has discussed with Cabinet colleagues global trade priorities for our G7 Presidency, including climate, health and digital trade, including with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, to ensure common priorities in the UK's G7 Ministerial tracks.