Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to promote regional exports to (a) Central America and (b) Panama.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) works to secure UK and global prosperity by promoting and financing international trade and investment and championing free trade in Central America and Panama.

DIT has recently appointed Jo Crellin as Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Latin America and the Caribbean as part of efforts to enhance the support available to British business overseas. DIT offers support to companies in Central America through our teams in Costa Rica and Panama working closely with the FCO across the region in enhancing British trade and Investment.

Since the department’s formation in July 2016 there have been 21 staff members posted to Panama and Central America focusing on trade promotion.

In addition, DIT has recently appointed Simon Hart, MP, as Trade Envoy for Panama, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.

UK Export Finance (UKEF) support is available across Central America; in Panama, specifically we have doubled UKEF’s capacity to £3.5bn and introduced local currency financing.

This work was also supported by 37 trade missions to Central America and Panama in the last 5 years.

Great.gov.uk is a platform designed by the Department for International Trade to help UK businesses secure their place on the global stage while presenting to overseas companies, including those in Central America, the breadth of industries and investment opportunities in the UK. Since the site was launched in November 2016 it has been visited by over 3 million users, helping overseas businesses connect with UK suppliers.