Oral Answers to Questions

Thangam Debbonaire Excerpts
Thursday 15th March 2018

(6 years, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Steve Baker Portrait Mr Baker
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I certainly agree that we should have our own trade policies in place and that we should not be standing against free trade. We should be unequivocally embracing free trade, but we must stand against unfair, anti-competitive practices, and that is what we will do.

Thangam Debbonaire Portrait Thangam Debbonaire (Bristol West) (Lab)
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If the Secretary of State and the Government will not consider the customs union, what specific support will they give to the aerospace sector, which employs so many people in Bristol?

Steve Baker Portrait Mr Baker
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I have good news for the hon. Lady. Both sides have agreed in principle that we should have a free trade agreement covering all sectors with zero tariffs. We believe that with a good-quality customs agreement we can achieve near-frictionless trade, and I believe that, taken together, those arrangements will ensure that our manufacturing industries, including aerospace, will have an ever brighter future.