Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps his Department is taking to promote Scottish exports.

My Department works closely with the Department for International Trade (DIT) to ensure Scottish businesses and Scottish products are promoted across the Globe. DIT has recently launched a UK Trade Hub based in Edinburgh’s Queen Elizabeth House to support Scottish businesses. This new Trade Hub will be dedicated to helping businesses in Scotland thrive and grow internationally, providing much-needed support for thousands of companies in these economically challenging times and helping businesses in Scotland recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

DIT has an extensive global reach and expertise that will add value to the services already provided by Scottish Development International (SDI). Businesses will be able to utilise the UK Government’s global networks, expertise and influence, as well as world-leading credit agency UK Export Finance (UKEF), to grow their overseas trade and build back from the impact of coronavirus.

Trade is crucial to the UK’s recovery from coronavirus and will be the foundation of our relationships across the globe after the transition period ends. I want to ensure that businesses in Scotland benefit from our new trade deals with the world’s biggest markets, as we remove barriers they previously faced.

We have ambitious goals for British trade, and aim to have 80 per cent of UK trade covered by free trade agreements within the next three years. We have already agreed the UK-Japan Free Trade Agreement which has paved the way for more UK goods to be protected – increasing geographical indications (GIs) from just seven under the terms of the EU-Japan deal to around 70 under our new agreement.

This will not only mean that products like Scotch Whisky will enjoy continued protection under the agreement, but also additional products, such as Arbroath Smokies and Stornoway Black Pudding could be protected in Japan from next year. This would allow producers in Scotland to have their products’ unique heritage protected and could lead to improved recognition of key Scottish brands in the Japanese market.

The UK Government is also making strong progress in our negotiations with the USA, Australia and New Zealand. We are committed to working closely with the Devolved Administrations to deliver an independent trade policy that works for the whole of the United Kingdom.