Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether appointments made to the Trade Remedies Authority will include representatives from UK manufacturing and trades unions.

We are committed to creating an organisation with the expertise required to reach informed and objective conclusions on trade remedies cases. We will ensure that the TRA is staffed by individuals with the right skills to effectively operate the new system. Our detailed review of the structure and resources of the Australian, American, Canadian, EU and United States systems has informed our decision to recruit investigators with legal, economics or accountancy backgrounds. As with other such appointments, appointments to the TRA will be made in accordance with good governance principles and, where relevant, rules on public appointments.

The Department for International Trade has engaged with a range of stakeholders including all sorts of businesses, and trade unions, throughout the policy and legislative development process for the trade remedies framework and will continue to do so as it sets up the Trade Remedies Authority.