Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2022 to Question 138016 on Trade: Biodiversity, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the feasibility of assessing net gain in trade; what plans her Department has with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to assess the (a) qualitative and (b) quantitative impacts of new free trade agreements on the environment; and if she will make a statement.

Ministers at the Department for International Trade regularly discuss matters relating to trade and environment with counterparts at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The two departments work together to provide qualitative and quantitative assessments of the environmental impacts of new free trade agreements. This includes several aspects of the environment, including emissions, air quality, water quality, and biodiversity.