Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what account his Department plans to take of alleged human rights abuses in Bangladesh in advising on any future trade deal with that country; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of imposing sanctions on Bangladesh in order to improve that country's respect for political and other rights.

The Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) has established the Department for International Trade to promote British trade across the world and ensure the United Kingdom takes advantage of the huge opportunities open to us. The Government is currently reviewing its trade policy. We will engage fully with a broad range of stakeholders, including both governments and business over the coming weeks and months, taking a large number of political and economic factors into consideration.

We are concerned about protection of human rights in Bangladesh, but believe that engagement, not sanctions, is the correct course of action. Sanctions would isolate Bangladesh at a time when it is, like so many, facing the global threat of terrorism. Trade sanctions would have a damaging effect on Bangladesh’s development and on efforts to bring people out of poverty.