Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, on what basis she made the decision to lift restrictions on arms sales to Turkey; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
HM Government is satisfied that decisions on licence applications to Turkey can be taken, by following a careful assessment against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria on a case-by-case basis.
The Criteria provide a thorough risk assessment framework and take into account a full range of factors such as our international obligations, including the Arms Trade Treaty.
These are not decisions we take lightly. We will not issue any export licences where to do so would be inconsistent with the Criteria.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what funds have been paid by her Department to Stonewall in each of the last five years; and to what projects those funds were allocated.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The Department for International Trade (DIT) was established in July 2016 so is only able to cover the period from this date. Our financial records show a payment to Stonewall of £2,500 + VAT in financial years 2016/2017, 2017/2018, 2019/2020 and 2020/2021. These payments were for membership fees given to Stonewall as part of their Diversity Champions programme. DIT has no records of payment to Stonewall for any other activity.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many meetings her Department has had with representatives of the People's Republic of China since 12 January 2021; what was discussed at each of those meetings; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Greg Hands
Neither Ministerial colleagues nor officials in London have met with the Chinese administration during this time.
Through the UK’s diplomatic missions in China, there is regular engagement with Chinese government counterparts to support UK trade interests.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the dates of appointment and end of appointment are of the Prime Minister's special trade envoys.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys have no formal end date for the role, however each position is reviewed after a general election and the Prime Minister then decides whether a Trade Envoy is appointed/re-appointed. After the last general election, all existing Trade Envoys were re-appointed. The attached table shows the dates which the current Prime Minister’s Trade Envoys were appointed to their respective markets.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what meetings he and Ministers of his Department have had with members of the Mexican government in (a) Mexico and (b) London in the last 12 months.
Answered by Greg Hands
My noble Friend the Minister of State for Trade Policy (Lord Price) visited Mexico in April 2016 and met with the President, the Finance Secretary, the Secretary for the Economy, the Minister of State for Trade Policy and the Chief Executive of the state oil company Pemex, who has a seat in Cabinet.
Earlier this month he visited Mexico again meeting with the Secretary for the Economy, the Minister of State for Trade Policy and the Deputy Foreign Minister.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what preparation work is being conducted on negotiating a trade deal with Mexico after the UK has left the EU.
Answered by Greg Hands
My noble Friend the Minister of State for Trade Policy (Lord Price) recently visited Mexico to discuss the UK-Mexico trading relationship. Officials are exploring how best to ensure continuity for businesses as the UK leaves the EU, and we are taking advantage of all the opportunities available to us to ensure that Britain becomes the global leader in free trade once we leave the EU.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps the Government is taking to increase trade with Mexico.
Answered by Greg Hands
We have a close working relationship with the Mexican Government and are working to increase bilateral trade. During the State Visit to the UK by President Enrique Peña Nieto in March 2015 we held the first meeting of the UK/Mexico Senior Business Leaders Group. In the last year we have made use of ministerial visits to Mexico to promote trade interests including visits by my noble Friend the Minister of State for International Trade Lord Price and ministers from across Government . The DIT team in Mexico are working on 10 High Value Campaigns for exports, and attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the UK and ensure that British companies benefit from commercial opportunities.