Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department has had discussions with representatives of the state government of (a) Alabama, (b) Mississippi and (c) Arkansas on securing memorandums of understanding on trade in the last two years.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
We regularly engage states through our network of consulates on how we can enhance our strong, existing trade relationships. My predecessor also met with the Governor of Arkansas in April last year to discuss how we could boost trade further.
We welcome continued interest from states in strengthening trade ties and will continue to focus on how best we can work together to deliver the greatest impact for business.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of trade in services between the UK and Israel in the past ten years.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
The United Kingdom is strongly committed to our trade and investment relationship with Israel, one of the Middle East’s most dynamic and innovative economies. In 2020, our services trade totalled £1.7 billion, which is an increase of 84.5% since 2010. Financial services and professional business services were our largest exports to Israel in 2020.
On 1st February, the Department for International Trade launched a public consultation on a new free trade deal that will play to British and Israeli strengths as fellow tech superpowers, boosting our strong trade relationship in digital, services and life sciences.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department has taken to recommence multilateral talks on the proposed Trade in Services Agreement.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Making multilateral progress on services trade liberalisation is a priority for the UK as an independent trading nation. As an active member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the UK is advancing market access negotiations through the Joint Initiatives on Services Domestic Regulation and E-Commerce, which draw on and have a much broader membership than the Trade in Services Agreement. Demonstrating further global services leadership, we are co-sponsoring exploratory market access discussions on environmental services and financial services at the WTO. We will continue to advocate strongly for services trade liberalisation in our multilateral and plurilateral engagement, including through the UK Presidency of the G7 trade track and through the G20.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to improve (a) trade links with Qatar and (b) investment in the UK from Qatari businesses.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
In 2019, total trade between the United Kingdom and Qatar was £7.2 billion, an increase of 37% (£1.9 billion) from 2018 and there are significant existing investment links between our countries. HM Government is committed to supporting more bilateral trade and investment.
My Department will continue to work with our Qatari counterparts to identify ways to boost trade and investment and remove barriers to trade. To explore opportunities to support our bilateral trade, the United Kingdom-Qatar Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) has been established and, in June, our third Working Group took place with the Qatar Investment Authority to promote the United Kingdom as a top investment destination and discuss future investment opportunities.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to improve (a) trade links with Bahrain and (b) investment in the UK from Bahraini businesses.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
In 2019, total trade between the United Kingdom and Bahrain was £1.3 billion, an increase of 10% (£117 million) from 2018 and there are significant existing investment links between our countries. HM Government is committed to supporting more bilateral trade and investment.
My Department will continue to work with our Bahraini counterparts to identify ways to boost trade and investment and remove barriers. Through recent engagement, Bahrain simplified certification requirements for goods, enabling British businesses to continue to export to Bahrain during the Covid-19 pandemic.