Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with businesses that trade with the EU on the potential impact of inconsistent application of border controls on the (a) time taken for goods to clear EU customs and (b) cost of exporting goods.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to tackling barriers to trade, including reducing frictions at the UK Border.
To do this we need effective dialogue with businesses. Minister Thomas and I recently hosted a roundtable to gather businesses’ views on how to improve the UK-EU trading relationship. My officials are also engaging with businesses to understand the barriers they face and how we can support them to grow and export to the EU.
DBT is also working across government to understand how initiatives like the UK Single Trade Window and the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) can improve the passage of goods.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
What discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on removing barriers to trade.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to improving the UK's trade and investment relationship with the European Union (EU). Only a few days ago I met the German Ambassador, and I recently has the pleasure of meeting with my Italian counterpart. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has had a range of positive discussions with his counterparts, including the EU Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis and other European ministers. As a Government, we are committed to restarting the UK-EU relationship, so from the Prime Minister down, we have established ongoing and productive engagement with the European Union and Member States.