Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect on UK trade of plans to establish a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific.

The proposed Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) by member countries of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) represents the latest in a wave of potential deals covering large portions of global trade. Such deals, once concluded and implemented, would provide a stimulus not just to the countries concerned, but globally. Some of the benefits, especially from any simplification of rules and behind the border barriers, would be enjoyed by those British companies present in the region or reliant on extended supply chains. Moreover, keeping the trade liberalisation agenda moving forward is important: regional trade deals may lead to a greater willingness and ability to liberalise at a multilateral level, or bilaterally with the EU.