Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she had discussions with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on extending the TRIPS waiver to include COVID-19 tests and treatments.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I refer the Hon. Member for North East Fife to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Warrington North on 7 November 2022, UIN: 72474.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department held discussions with international counterparts at the WTO Council meeting on 22 November 2022 on the extension of the TRIPS waiver to include covid-19 tests and treatments.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK is engaging in the ongoing discussions taking place in the World Trade Organization, as Members consider extending the TRIPS Decision to COVID-19 therapeutics and diagnostics. The UK looks forward to making progress in this area and remains committed to engaging constructively.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much her Department spent on consultancy fees in the last five years.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Department for International Trade reported spend on consultants in its Annual Report and Accounts and this information is publicly available on www.gov.uk on the following links:
The 2021-2022 consultancy spend will be published in the 2021-2022 Annual Report and Accounts in the coming weeks.
Department for International Trade Annual Report and Accounts 2016 to 2017, page 49
Department for International Trade annual report and accounts 2017 to 2018, page 115
Department for International Trade Annual Report and Accounts 2018 to 2019, page 120
Department for International Trade Annual Report and Accounts 2019 to 2020, page 109
Department for International Trade Annual Report and Accounts 2020 to 2021, page 137
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, in the context of the EU dropping its blanket ban on the EU TRIPS waiver, whether she has plans for the UK to do the same; what assessment she has made of the impact of the UK's opposition to the TRIPS waiver on the reputation of the UK; and what steps her Department plans to take to facilitate global vaccine production in place of a TRIPS waiver.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The UK has engaged constructively in the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) waiver debate and will continue to do so when presented with further formal text proposals. This has not yet happened. HM Government remains open to initiatives that could help with equitable vaccine distribution and their prompt administration, but there is no evidence that waiving intellectual property protections would advance this objective. Instead, the UK is working with international and regional partners, including the African Union, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, CEPI (the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations), international development banks and the private sector to catalyse strategic investments for vaccine manufacturing in low- and middle-income countries.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will publish her predecessor's Ministerial diary for 20 May 2020.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Ministers regularly meet with departmental officials and external stakeholders. Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly and can be found on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
What progress she has made towards a free trade agreement with the US.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
I am in close contact with Katherine Tai, the US Trade Representative. I am pleased the US has lifted tariffs on Whisky, and I am working to lift Airbus Boeing dispute. We are continuing to make progress in Free Trade Agreement (FTA) discussions as well as working together on our broader trade agenda.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether riot gear sold to the US has been used against peaceful protestors.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
I refer the Honourable Lady to the answer I gave on 23rd November (UIN: 117290).
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the Government supports the World Trade Organisation proposed waiver for covid-19 intellectual property.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has long-supported affordable and equitable access to medicines, including in developing countries. A robust and fair intellectual property system is essential to drive innovation, allow economic growth and enable society to benefit from knowledge sharing. There are flexibilities within the Agreement for the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and World Trade Organisation (WTO) Members can use these to ensure access to medicines. The Department for International Trade welcomes initiatives such as Diatropix launched this week in Dakar – where British and Senegalese partners will share technology to produce COVID-19 antibody tests, making 10 million available across west Africa by the end of March 2021. This initiative, supported by development funding from the UK and elsewhere, will make a practical difference in the fight against COVID-19.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she has discussed the role of the proposed Office for the Internal Market with her foreign counterparts as part of trade talks.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
There have been no discussions with foreign counterparts about the Office for the Internal Market (OIM) as set out in the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill. HM Government has been clear that the purpose of the OIM is to support the effective operation of the United Kingdom internal market by providing non-binding advice and reporting.