Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the new Developing Countries Trading Scheme will include equal or improved level of human rights protections when compared to the existing Generalised Scheme of Preferences used by the UK.

The Secretary of State for International Trade is responsible for the UK's unilateral preferences scheme, including the design of the new Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS). The detailed proposals for the DCTS will be published in 2022.

HM Government believes that growing trading relationships increases UK influence in open conversations with partners on a range of difficult issues, including human rights. The UK will continue to show global leadership in encouraging all states to uphold international human rights obligations and hold those who violate human rights to account.