Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of making the terms of any draft UK-India free-trade deal subject to a vote by the House of Commons.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to ensuring that Parliament can effectively scrutinise the UK’s trade deals. It is the Government’s view that to give Parliament binding votes over international agreements would fundamentally change the UK’s constitutional settlement and undermine the Government’s flexibility to negotiate deals that best serve the interests of UK businesses, consumers and communities.
The India trade agreement will be subject to pre-ratification scrutiny through the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act. Furthermore, any legislative changes required to give effect to the agreement will also be scrutinised and passed by Parliament in the usual way.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she intends to appoint a Trade Envoy to Malawi.
Answered by Marcus Fysh
Though there are no plans at present to add Malawi to the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy Programme, the Department for International Trade is constantly reviewing suitable markets to identify where the appointment of a Trade Envoy can be of greatest benefit to the trade and investment aims of the UK.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that cotton produced in Xinjiang province through the forced labour of Uyghur Muslims does not enter the UK supply chain.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
HM Government has announced a number of measures to help make sure that no British organisation is complicit, through their supply chains, in the violation of rights and responsibilities occurring in Xinjiang.
The United Kingdom has taken a leading international role in holding China to account for such violations, including helping to secure the support of 43 countries for a joint statement at the UN in October that called on China to allow “immediate, meaningful and unfettered access to Xinjiang for independent observers.”
We are committed to ongoing discussions on cotton and trade related matters at the WTO too, and recognise the importance of reform to the global cotton market, which will benefit the most vulnerable in particular.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions she has had with (a) US trade representatives and (b) industry bodies on efforts to (i) reach a resolution to the Section 232 dispute with the US and (ii) the removal of the 25 per cent tariff on imported US whiskey.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
My Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade has engaged with US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, most recently on 12 November, to press for a resolution to the Section 232 tariffs. We have also been engaging with industry bodies, including The Scotch Whisky Association. UK importers are aware that our preference is the full removal of 232 tariffs, in which case the UK’s 25 percent tariff on imported US whiskey will not be required.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions she has had with the World Trade Organisation on the development of intellectual property waiver agreements to facilitate the mass production of coronavirus vaccines.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK has engaged regularly in debates at the World Trade Organisation’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Council and other international institutions to promote affordable and equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines, including in developing countries. As part of this, the UK has encouraged evidence-based discussions between WTO members to find real solutions to the issues at hand within the multilateral intellectual property framework.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the use of anti-riot gear manufactured by (a) DMS Plastics and (b) other British-based manufacturers by US law enforcement in response to Black Lives Matter protests in the US; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
Officials in the Export Control Joint Unit have carried out two reassessments of whether the events in the United States – since George Floyd was killed on 25th May 2020 – give rise to a clear risk under Criterion 2a of the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria (the “Consolidated Criteria”) that crowd control equipment exported to the US might be used for internal repression.
The first reassessment was completed in July and it was determined that no clear risk that such equipment might be used for internal repression existed. The second reassessment was completed in September 2020 and this concluded likewise.
Given the broad list of end-users covered by the licences, the reassessments assumed that it was possible that crowd control equipment exported from the United Kingdom was and/or could be sold to and used by police forces involved in these or similar protests, whether or not this was the case; accordingly, this supersedes an assessment on whether such equipment was actually used.
It is important not to lose sight of the fact that the US remains a beacon for freedom, opportunity and democracy. The US maintains the rule of law and has robust institutions. Further, there is democratic oversight, accountability and extensive public scrutiny, including by an active civil society and free press.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) tear gas, (b) riot shields and (c) rubber bullets produced in and sold by companies based in the UK to law enforcement agencies in the US are not used against peaceful civilian protesters in that country.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
My Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade and I have been sorry to see the violence that has taken place in the United States of America.
All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria (‘Consolidated Criteria’). In reaching a decision, the Department for International Trade receives advice from a number of Departments including the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Together, we draw on all available information, including reports from NGOs and our diplomatic missions. The Consolidated Criteria provides a thorough risk assessment framework and requires us to think hard about the impact of exporting any equipment. These are not decisions my Department takes lightly, and we will not license the export of items where to do so would be inconsistent with the Consolidated Criteria.
Any licence granted by my Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade may be subject to conditions. In addition, in line with the Consolidated Criteria, my Department is able to review licences – and suspend or revoke as necessary – when circumstances require. There are currently eight extant licences that may be linked to law enforcement agencies. Six are Open Individual Export Licences (‘OIELs’), which have potential end users that include law enforcement agencies. Two are Standard Individual Export Licences (‘SIELs’), which have numerous potential end users that include law enforcement agencies. There are also 15 Open General Licences (‘OGLs’) for which businesses can register that cover the export of anti-riot gear.
Much information is in the public domain already. We publish information on all export licences issued, refused and revoked on a quarterly and annual basis as official statistics on GOV.UK – at: gov.uk/government/collections/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data – and whilst data on actual exports is not required to be centrally held, the licences issued until the end of December 2019 are available.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she plans to negotiate a carve-out provision based on the definition by the European Public Services Union excluding (a) the NHS and (b) other public services from a trade deal with the US.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK’s public services, including the NHS, are protected by specific carve-outs, exceptions and reservations in the trade agreements to which the UK is a party, and the UK will continue to ensure that the same rigorous protections are included in future trade agreements. Decisions about public services will continue to be made by the UK Government (or the Devolved Administrations, where appropriate), not by our trade partners.
The Government has been clear that the NHS is not, and never will be, for sale to the private sector, whether overseas or domestic and this position was reaffirmed in our negotiating objectives for a UK-US Free Trade Agreement published on 2 March 2020.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of protecting regulatory data exclusivity for innovative drugs in a UK-US trade deal.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government’s objectives for US negotiations state that we will secure provisions that protect the UK’s world-leading intellectual property standards and seek an effective and balanced regime which supports innovation within the pharmaceutical sector, while reflecting wider public interests such as ensuring patient access to medicines.
The Government is clear that when negotiating free trade agreements, the NHS and the price the NHS pays for medicines will not be on the table. We will not agree to measures which undermine the Government’s ability to deliver our NHS manifesto commitments.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps the Government is taking to protect the role of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in regulating drug prices in the event of a UK-US trade deal.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Health and Social Care. Questions about NICE should be referred to my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Health & Social Care.
The Government has been clear that the price the NHS pays for drugs is not on the table in trade negotiations. This position was reaffirmed in our negotiating objectives for a UK-US Free Trade Agreement published on 2 March 2020.