Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on potential opportunities to help grow the economies of developing countries through free trade.

Trade is a key driver of economic growth that can trigger positive changes in a country’s economy, helping to raise incomes, create jobs and lift people out of poverty.

Our first priority is to deliver continuity in our trading arrangements with developing countries in order to minimise trade disruption as we leave the EU. Once we leave the EU, the UK will be able to offer a fully integrated trade and development package, which will encompass preferential market access for developing country partners alongside our aid spending that helps developing countries to take advantage of trading opportunities.