Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, how international trade agreements are being leveraged to diversify high-risk import dependencies.

Our trade agreements play an important role in helping businesses build resilient supply chains through close ties and favourable trading terms across a wide range of markets where they can export goods and reliably source imports critical to their operations.

We are increasing our focus on addressing supply chain dependencies, including by seeking stronger supply chain resilience provisions through CPTPP. Our recent FTA with the Republic of Korea also included the UK's first dedicated supply chains chapter, creating mechanisms to identify vulnerabilities, share information and coordinate responses to disruption, while helping businesses diversify sources of essential inputs and raw materials.