Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the potential benefits of the UK joining the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability; and if she will make a statement.

The UK recognises the value of the ongoing negotiations between Agreement on Climate Change, Trade & Sustainability (ACCTS) members on new trade and climate commitments that would apply unilaterally (e.g. not only between ACCTS members). We are not seeking to join at present, but to tackle trade and environmental issues through discussions with as many partners as possible.

Global problems require global solutions, and we are therefore progressing these matters through multilateral organisations, particularly at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD), a plurilateral WTO group made up of 74 members.