Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to page 24 of the Board of Trade’s Global Britain, Local Jobs report, in which of the Free Trade Agreements covering 66 countries negotiated by her Department have tariff reductions been expanded for key UK industries.

HM Government is grateful to the Board of Trade for its thought leadership on trade policy. The Rt Hon. Lady will know from reading the Global Britain, Local Jobs report that there are benefits for the British people – in every corner of the country – from an ambitious trade agenda.

We are proud to have secured trade deals with 66 countries, plus the EU. These agreements provide a strong foundation for our trading relationships, covering trade worth £890 billion in 2019, but do not represent the limit of our ambition. We will seek to improve upon these to maximise trading opportunities.

HM Government will make sure digital markets are opened by reducing barriers to the flow of data, whilst maintaining high standards of protection. We will reduce regulatory divergence by securing commitments through Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations, the WTO E-Commerce Joint Initiative negotiations, and the United Kingdom’s G7 Presidency. It is important that all regulations are proportionate and not trade-distorting. We will bring down non-tariff barriers through trade negotiations so that safe goods and services from the United Kingdom can be sold into new markets freely.

The Board of Trade report defines “key industries” as those parts of the economy with the greatest chances to increase their exports, thanks to trade policy and trade promotion interventions. HM Government agrees with the Board of Trade that trade agreements can deliver opportunities nationwide, and is considering how to add the data from this cutting-edge research into our policy.

The Rt Hon. Lady will know that the Department for International Trade (DIT) has already published an impact assessment for the FTA with Japan, setting out the potential impacts on every part of the United Kingdom.[1] The Board of Trade’s report focuses on the next international steps our nation can take. Domestic policy, including ‘freeports’, is not explored in the report. Neither the Board of Trade nor HM Government intend to publish an addendum to this report.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-japan-cepa-final-impact-assessment.