Asked by: Robert Syms (Conservative - Poole)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what progress her Department has made on securing UK membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The UK recently reached a major milestone in the accession process to CPTPP, by moving to market access negotiations with this trading bloc.
These negotiations will see new, beneficial trading relationships agreed with CPTPP members. Tariffs will be reduced on UK goods exports, and services markets will open up further to British business, through advanced provisions that facilitate digital trade and modern rules on data. We aim to conclude negotiations by the end of 2022.
Asked by: Robert Syms (Conservative - Poole)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if (a) she and (b) her officials will meet with the Chair of the Association of Relocation Professionals on supporting high value jobs through relocation to the UK after the transition period.
Answered by Graham Stuart
My officials regularly meet with businesses and associations across the country. I have asked them to make contact with the Association of Relocation Professionals to initiate a meeting to discuss supporting the relocation of high value jobs to the UK.
Our country has a proud and hard-won reputation as one of the most open economies and one of the foremost destinations for inward investment in the world. The Department supported 1,449 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects during the 2019/20 financial year, which created almost 45,000 new jobs and safeguarded a further 8,000.