Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she will negotiate a carve out from the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership on patent law so that the UK can maintain its membership of the European Patent Convention; and if she will make a statement.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership is a pre-existing agreement signed by eleven countries and ratified by eight. It is not possible to re-write the agreement, because this is an accession process, not a brand-new free trade agreement negotiation

The Government cannot comment on the sensitive detail of live negotiations; however, accession will only take place on terms beneficial to the UK.