Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on smallholder farmers of the measures in the Intellectual Property Chapter of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership relating to the requirement for signatory countries to ratify the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants 1991.

The UK’s accession to CPTPP will not change the UK’s existing commitments under the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV).

The Government does not foresee any impacts on UK small farmers due to the UK’s legal obligations under CPTPP Article 18.7.2 because there will be no changes to the UK’s existing legislative framework in this area.

UPOV provides for plant breeders’ rights, aiming to encourage the development of new varieties of plants, with benefits such as food security and mitigating climate change.

Mechanisms are available within CPTPP to discuss issues raised by signatory countries.