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Written Question
Imports
Tuesday 29th June 2021

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of costs for UK Importers; and what steps her Department is taking to help prevent price fixing in the global container shipping industry.

Answered by Ranil Jayawardena

Container shipping costs are currently high, driven by increased demand as a result of a change in pandemic consumer spending. The levels of demand have meant that port and shipping container capacity has been stretched globally.

The Department for Transport has engaged closely with both ports and shipping lines to monitor the operational impacts, and make sure industry is doing all it can to mitigate impacts on the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom has robust competition laws, and the Competition and Markets Authority has discretion to investigate competition cases which, according to its own prioritisation principles, it considers most appropriate.


Written Question
Richard Desmond
Wednesday 3rd June 2020

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Prime Minister, on what dates (a) he or (b) his special advisors had discussions with (i) Richard Desmond and (ii) board members, staff or agents of the Northern & Shell Media Group (A) prior to his appointment as Prime Minister and (B) after his appointment.

Answered by Boris Johnson

Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on gov.uk as part of the government’s transparency agenda. Both Ministers and special advisers declare meetings with senior media executives, as part of their transparency returns.


Written Question
Trade Agreements
Friday 5th April 2019

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what plans he has to ensure that (a) hon. Members, (b) NGOs and (c) Trade Unions are able to fully scrutinise future potential trade deals.

Answered by George Hollingbery

On 28 February we published further proposals on transparency and scrutiny of FTAs. During negotiations for future free trade agreements we will publish and lay before Parliament a Round Report following each substantive round of negotiations. This Round Report will also be published online in an accessible format. We will also publish an Annual Trade Report covering progress across the full programme of negotiations. We announced our intention to work closely with a parliamentary committee to put in place measures to ensure effective parliamentary scrutiny throughout the process.

Alongside our regular engagement with stakeholders, we have set up the Strategic Trade Advisory Group, which was recently announced. Another formal engagement mechanism we are setting up is Expert Trade Advisory Groups. Both of these mechanisms are designed to seek expert insight on strategic trade policy issues, including future trade agreements. These groups will represent a variety of interests, including representatives of trade unions and NGOs.


Written Question
Trade Agreements
Thursday 22nd November 2018

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what progress he has made on securing trade deals with third countries after the UK leaves the EU.

Answered by George Hollingbery

We continue to seek continuity of our existing free trade agreements as we leave the European Union. The Withdrawal Agreement states that during the implementation period, the UK is to be treated as a Member State for the purposes of international agreements, and this includes trade agreements.

The Government is also preparing for an ambitious programme of trade negotiations and enhanced market access, including potentially opening a series of formal negotiations for new free trade agreements with the United States, Australia and New Zealand; and scoping possible UK accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). We have completed 14-week long public consultations on each of these three potential future trade agreement negotiations and on the UK’s possible accession to the CPTPP.

The Trade Bill will provide continuity by enabling the preservation of the UK’s current trade and investment relationships, while creating the necessary legal powers to ensure we are ready to operate independently when we exit the EU.