Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the UK's Free Trade Agreement with Japan since 23 October 2020, what assessment she has made of the effect of that agreement on UK (a) small and medium enterprises, (b) financial services, (c) car manufacturers, (d) food safety, (e) animal welfare and (f) digital commerce.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) published an impact assessment of the long-term effects of UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on 23 October 2020. This included an assessment of the potential impacts on small and medium enterprises, and across sectors – including automotive and financial services – alongside consideration of digital trade provisions. The Government has been clear that we will not compromise on our high food safety standards and animal welfare –CEPA is no exception to this.

DIT has committed to publishing a biennial free trade agreement monitoring report starting in 2023 and a comprehensive evaluation report for CEPA within 5 years of its entry into force. The evaluation report will focus on specific sectors that monitoring suggests may have been particularly affected by the agreement.