Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when she plans to open trade negotiations (a) bilaterally with the US, (b) for the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, (c) bilaterally with Japan, (d) bilaterally with Australia, (e) bilaterally with New Zealand, (f) with Mercosur, (g) bilaterally with other individual countries and (h) multilaterally through the WTO.

Our priority is to be in a position to begin negotiations with our key partners as soon after we leave the EU as possible.

We will prioritise negotiating trade agreements with our close friends and likeminded allies: the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, as well as considering accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

We continue to build stronger bilateral trading relationships through dialogue and engagement with partners. We are also assessing options for future trading arrangements, this includes the Mercosur bloc and its members. The UK already participates in WTO negotiations as part of the EU. Once we regain our independent voice at the WTO, the UK will continue to take an active role in these negotiations.