Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many countries in the Commonwealth have not agreed a trade deal with the UK for when the UK leaves the EU.

The UK enjoys excellent trading relationships with our Commonwealth partners and the Government is committed to strengthening these further.

As we leave the EU, the Government is seeking continuity for our existing EU trade arrangements, including those with Commonwealth countries. The best way to provide continuity and stability of these agreements is to have a deal with the European Union so that the UK can remain covered by all existing trade agreements during the Implementation Period. Nevertheless, the Government is working to have bilateral agreements in place ready for when we need them, whether that is in the event of no deal, or after the proposed implementation period.

The UK has signed trade agreement continuity agreements with Commonwealth countries in the Caribbean, Pacific and Eastern and Southern Africa. The list of countries is available on Gov.uk (LINK).

The Government has also published a list of those agreements that both may and will not be in place by 12 April 2019 in order that businesses and individuals ensure that they are prepared for every eventuality. (LINK) This advice will be updated regularly. Many discussions with other Commonwealth countries are at an advanced stage. As with all such discussions, they tend to go down to the wire, and we would expect nothing less from these agreements.

We will implement a UK trade preferences scheme for developing countries, including those in the Commonwealth, which will provide the same level of access as the current EU trade preference scheme. This includes maintaining duty-free, quota-free access for the world’s least developed countries.

Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK will be free to negotiate, sign and ratify new trade agreements during the time-limited implementation period, and to bring them into force from January 2021. We have completed public consultations on possible UK trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand, and potential accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which includes six members of the Commonwealth. In addition, we are building stronger relationships with large economies, such India, through a series of Joint Trade Reviews (JTRs).