Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what progress he has made on securing trade deals with third countries after the UK leaves the EU.

We continue to seek continuity of our existing free trade agreements as we leave the European Union. The Withdrawal Agreement states that during the implementation period, the UK is to be treated as a Member State for the purposes of international agreements, and this includes trade agreements.

The Government is also preparing for an ambitious programme of trade negotiations and enhanced market access, including potentially opening a series of formal negotiations for new free trade agreements with the United States, Australia and New Zealand; and scoping possible UK accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). We have completed 14-week long public consultations on each of these three potential future trade agreement negotiations and on the UK’s possible accession to the CPTPP.

The Trade Bill will provide continuity by enabling the preservation of the UK’s current trade and investment relationships, while creating the necessary legal powers to ensure we are ready to operate independently when we exit the EU.