Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps her Department has taken to help increase the volume of trade between the UK and Central America.

Last year, my Department successfully negotiated and brought into force the United Kingdom-Central America Association Agreement that maintains preferential trading conditions, providing certainty for businesses. Trade between the United Kingdom and countries party to this Agreement was worth £1.3bn in 2020.

My Department continues to work with our Central American partners to resolve market access barriers on issues such as procurement. We are sharing best regulatory practice to improve the ease of doing business and identifying opportunities for British businesses looking to enter the Central American markets.