US Tariffs: Scotch Whisky

Stephen Kerr Excerpts

Monday 7th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Conor Burns]

After—how long has it been?—quite a long time during which we have enjoyed such wonderful consensus, I fear that we have now entered the press release-writing section of this urgent question.

No Conservative Member would ever speak of the Scottish economy in such denigrating terms. It is, in fact, because of our respect for the people of Scotland and the Scottish economy that Government Members passionately believe in Scotland’s integral place as a part of the United Kingdom. It is we who passionately believe that we are better together, and it is we who passionately believe that the best interests of the Scottish people are served by membership of this United Kingdom. It is this Government, serving every part of the United Kingdom, who will do all that we can to protect that sector, and to protect whisky producers in every part of this country. But if the hon. and learned Lady, who has taken some time off from her court cases to come here today, genuinely believes that the best way of resolving this dispute is to attack and denigrate personally the President of the United States, I think that shows how naive she is.

[Stephen Kerr (Stirling) (Con)]

Let me confirm to the Minister that no Scottish Conservative considers Scotland’s economy to be a basket case. What an insult that was from the hon. and learned Member for Edinburgh South West (Joanna Cherry). However, I am concerned about the single malt distillers in Stirling, namely Deanston and Glengoyne: I am anxious that they should be able to continue to prosper. Is one of the options that the Government might pursue in their representations to the United States that this date of 18 October might be postponed a little, to allow us some time in which to continue negotiations?

[Conor Burns]

As I have indicated on a couple of occasions, the Government think that the way to move forward is to ask our friends and allies in the United States not to implement these tariffs within the timeline that they are proposing, to work with the EU and the other countries within it which are affected by the Airbus-Boeing dispute and are therefore subject to these tariffs, to secure a judgment from the WTO that confirms that we are now compliant, and to talk to the United States about how we can withdraw the tariffs and allow a sector that is vital to us and to the United States to proceed unimpeded.

Arms Export Licences (Saudi Arabia)

Stephen Kerr Excerpts

Thursday 26th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

To be clear for the hon. Gentleman, it was on 12 September that the errors were identified within the Department and notified to me. We then notified the Court and immediately conducted an internal review of all the licences already issued. All these issues relate to decisions that were made before 12 September, and that is why we have put in place the new interim procedure.

[Stephen Kerr (Stirling) (Con)]

It is of vital reputational importance that we maintain the most rigorous and robust export licensing regime in the world. To that end, what is the basis upon which these licences are granted, as in this instance?

[Elizabeth Truss]

The basis on which these licences are granted is in line with the consolidated criteria. Specifically for Saudi Arabia and the coalition partners, we are very much cognisant of the Court of Appeal’s ruling and the undertaking of the former Secretary of State to Parliament.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Kerr Excerpts

Thursday 11th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[Dr Fox]

The hon. Gentleman may be slightly confusing the Board of Trade with the Department for International Trade. They have slightly different functions. When the Board of Trade met in Wales recently, we presented a number of awards to Welsh exporters, but the Board of Trade is an augmentation of the DIT in that it is able to take its own trade missions abroad. The advantage of the DIT to Wales is that it provides access to a much bigger network than could ever be achieved by the Welsh Government, and thus gives Welsh business a far greater capability than it would otherwise have.

[Stephen Kerr (Stirling) (Con)]

9. I was delighted to welcome my right hon. Friend to Stirling last year for the first ever meeting of the Board of Trade in Scotland. He has mentioned Scotch beef. The National Farmers Union of Scotland has launched a social media campaign, #BackScotchBeef. Will my right hon. Friend be beefing up his Department in Scotland, to provide more presence and resources to support the export of Scotch beef?

[Dr Fox]

I am delighted to say that the outcomes of the Department’s efforts have already been pretty beefy. The important point is, however, that because Scotland is part of the United Kingdom and therefore has access to a Department of State with a very large international footprint, we are better able to tackle issues such as market access to Scottish beef than Scotland would ever be if it were an independent state.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Kerr Excerpts

Thursday 13th September 2018 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Atkins]

That is a very good point. We are committed to looking not just at gender, but BAME and issues such as mental health. This reporting is opening up conversations about gender, as I say, but we hope that, as part of that, it will open up conversations about how employers treat their workforce generally and ensure that fairness is extended to everyone regardless, as the hon. Lady says, of gender, how they look and so on. One thing we are keen to do is to ensure that, as part of the reporting, employers put their action plans out there. About 48% of companies are already doing that. We would like them to do more.

[Stephen Kerr (Stirling) (Con)]

It is good news and should be celebrated that 100% of eligible businesses have reported on the gender pay gap, but may I press the Minister further? What further steps will she take to see that action flows from the reporting of this gender pay gap?

[Victoria Atkins]

Very much so. We have a packed agenda of meetings with business leaders but also with industry leaders, so that we can trickle down good practice from the largest employers, who obviously have the most resources in terms of HR departments and so on. We want to get the best practice from them and trickle it down so that we help those employers who under the legislation are required to report. My aspiration is also for employers who fall under that threshold to start adopting the same good practice as well.

Trade Bill

Stephen Kerr Excerpts

3rd reading: House of Commons & Report stage: House of Commons
Tuesday 17th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Kerr (Stirling) (Con)]

On a very quick point, is it not true that the working relationship between the UK Government and the Scottish Government is much more positive and much more healthy than we would be led to believe from listening to the rhetoric of the SNP Members in this place?

[George Hollingbery]

It is not for me to make judgments on how people approach negotiations, save to say that the experience of Government officials is that deep, proper and real conversations have occurred at Scottish Government level between officials and indeed between those in the Executive.

Let me reiterate that, in line with convention, the UK Government will not normally implement in devolved areas without the consent of the devolved Administrations. These amendments demonstrate significant progress in our discussions with the devolved Administrations to whom we have been listening throughout the passage of this Bill, as has been admirably demonstrated. We will continue to engage actively with the devolved Administrations to achieve the agreement of a legislative consent memorandum. As such, I hope that the hon. Member for Dundee East will now feel able not to push amendment 29 to a vote.

Question put, That the clause be read a Second time.

Trade Policy

Stephen Kerr Excerpts

Monday 16th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Dr Fox]

It will be dependent on what both sides are willing to concede and on the level of ambition that both sides have. Following my discussions, not least with the President of the United States last week, I am very optimistic that such an agreement is well within the reach of both parties.

[Stephen Kerr (Stirling) (Con)]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement and congratulate him on the approach he is taking. When will he be able to set out the countries he is hoping to enter into negotiations with?

[Dr Fox]

I expect to be able to do that within days, rather than many weeks.

US Steel and Aluminium Tariffs

Stephen Kerr Excerpts

Monday 4th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Dr Fox]

Even for a member of his party, for the right hon. Gentleman to refer to the United States as a “rogue state” gives us pause for thought. With this particular measure, we think the US has behaved in a way that has a very poor basis in law and does not have any justification in national security. However, treating the United States in the way he suggests would be quite wrong, and it does a great deal to explain why his party has such a small representation in this House.

[Stephen Kerr (Stirling) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade mentioned in his statement that the industry will gather at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy tomorrow morning. What form of support will BEIS be offering UK companies, especially those that do not have a US presence, in order to secure exemptions for their products?

[Dr Fox]

My right hon. Friend the Business Secretary felt it would be of the greatest benefit to those in the industry to have them in and to have experts, including legal experts, talk them through the product exemption system. The product exemption system does not require a presidential agreement; it occurs at the level of the Department of Commerce. Knowing how the system works and being able to access it efficiently is of prime importance.

Trade Bill

Stephen Kerr Excerpts

Tuesday 9th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mark Menzies]

Unlike the hon. Lady, I do not live in a former life; I live in the here and now, and I am thinking about what happens post 2019. The Bill will give continuity and certainty to companies that export. The trade deals that we have with, for example, Colombia, Peru or Chile are the result of our membership of the EU, and unless those deals are rolled over, as the Bill will enable us to do, there will be a gap that is disastrous for all the men and women living in our constituencies. The Bill is about looking to the future and dealing with the world as it is, not how we would like it to be.

Another key provision in the Bill gives the Government the ability to collect important trade data. That will ensure that the Government—the Department for International Trade or any other branch of the Government—can better serve the interests of British exporters and of British companies that import into this country. It will ensure that we put money into the supply chain and show that we intend to add value to the exports we are involved in producing. This sensible and practical measure shows that the Government are looking to the future.

The United Kingdom must, by agreeing this Bill on Second Reading tonight, send out a clear message that, in the post-2019 environment, we want to trade with the rest of the world. As part of the conversation with individual nation states, we must make sure that their respective legislatures—their congresses, senates or parliaments—put in place reciprocal legislative changes where necessary. Although that will not be necessary in every case, some such measures will be needed to ensure that the reciprocal arrangements also flip over in advance of 2019. Unless we send out such a clear message tonight, confusion will reign because, as I said at the outset, there is a distinct lack of clarity in many countries across the world about what the future looks like for them.

I urge on the Government in their work. I recommend that the Secretary of State and the Minister ensure that our trade commissioners, where they are in place, continue the excellent work they have already begun and that DIT offices in such countries continue to be well resourced. I urge them to be ambitious.

[Stephen Kerr (Stirling) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that the tone of the message we send out is also important and that it shows we are looking forward to the future, embracing existing opportunities and are positive?

[Mark Menzies]

Absolutely. The Bill is about Britain looking outwards, not inwards. It is about dealing with the world as it is becoming, and it is also about ensuring that British companies and the British people working in those companies are best placed to take advantage of such opportunities. Only by earning our way in the world, not by making life difficult for British companies or creating uncertainty, can we pay for the public services that all of us expect and demand. By not voting for the Bill’s Second Reading, we would be making life even more difficult for British companies and sending countries around the world conflicting messages about what Britain will be like in a post-Brexit environment. I honestly ask Members to look at what the Bill is—

Foreign Direct Investment 2016-17

Stephen Kerr Excerpts

Tuesday 12th September 2017 Westminster Hall

[Michael Tomlinson (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (Con)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered foreign direct investment into the UK in 2016-17.

It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gray. You might be forgiven for thinking that foreign direct investment is rather a niche subject for a Tuesday morning, but it is vital, particularly in the context of Brexit and of course international trade more generally. I am delighted to have secured this debate. The timing is especially apt after last night’s vote on the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill and our consideration of the Finance Bill later on today and into this evening.

FDI refers specifically to cross-border investments made by residents and businesses from one country into another and—importantly—with the aim of establishing a lasting interest in the enterprise that is operating in a foreign economy. I hope that this debate will focus on inward investment into this country—into UK companies —by foreign companies and enterprises. I will explore several main themes, including investment in the UK in the context of Brexit. I will give specific figures on FDI and statistics for 2016-17, and describe how FDI is spread across the regions, which is certainly important for me as a Member of Parliament from the south-west. I shall also discuss opportunities for FDI after Brexit and put some specific questions to the Minister.

First, let me talk about investment in the UK generally. As The Economist points out this week, many people warned of a slump in our economy following last year’s EU referendum. The expectation was that investment would decrease and that FDI itself would dry up, but that has not happened. Companies such as Google, Nissan, Toyota, Amazon and even Snapchat have shown that Britain is still a great country in which to invest.

Toyota recently announced an investment into the UK of more than a quarter of a billion pounds for its plant near Derby. Nissan is increasing its production in Sunderland by a fifth, doubling the amount of parts that it sources from within the UK and stepping up production by about 20%. Importantly, as we look to the future and electric vehicles, Nissan is investing strongly in this country, particularly in Sunderland. Google has invested £1 billion in 3,000 more jobs, and Amazon recently announced that it was taking over 15 storeys and 600,000 square feet of a new building in Shoreditch, which is even more than it originally promised back in 2014. That shows that London really is the capital of research and development, certainly for Amazon, which is also increasing the number of jobs.

[Stephen Kerr (Stirling) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate on a vital subject. He mentions London, but I would like to mention my home turf of Scotland. I am sure he is aware that Scotland was recently voted the most beautiful country in the world by the readers of a certain travel publication, but is he also aware that for the last five years in a row, Scotland has been the top location in the UK outside London for FDI? In fact, despite the warnings of naysayers and prophets of doom, 2016 was a record year, with 122 FDI deals done in Scotland during that year, which was up from the previous year. Does he agree that an industrial strategy with an emphasis on education and skills, combined with proactivity on the part of the Department for International Trade and business-friendly taxes, can help to make all the nations and regions of the United Kingdom irresistible to foreign investors? Should we not all be very positive about our future outside the European Union?

[Michael Tomlinson]

I completely agree that we should be positive about our future outside the EU. The whole purpose of the opening part of my speech was to show that, even after last year’s EU referendum result, the situation has not been all doom and gloom. I will talk about Scotland and the regions a little later in my speech, but my hon. Friend is absolutely right.