Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Pursglove Excerpts

Thursday 3rd November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Tom Pursglove (Corby) (Con)]

2. What discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the development of bilateral trade deals between the UK and other countries.

[The Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade (Dr Liam Fox)]

While we remain members of the European Union, discussions we have are limited by our considerations of the common commercial policy and our duties of sincere co-operation. We cannot negotiate and conclude trade agreements while we are a member of the European Union, but we can have discussions on our future trading relationships. The UK will continue to be a champion for free trade, and back the EU’s current and ongoing negotiations.

[Tom Pursglove]

I am very grateful to the Secretary of State for that answer. Does he agree that the decision to leave the European Union presents this country with an enormous opportunity to re-engage with our Commonwealth friends and to forge proper trading links with them once more?

[Dr Fox]

Yes, we are keen to seize all the opportunities that leaving the EU presents, and so, too, are many of our international partners, who recognise the attractiveness of doing business with the UK. I will be accompanying the Prime Minister on a trip next week to India to take forward some of those opportunities.