Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to formulate a strategy for trade in services with the EU at a (1) bilateral, and (2) multilateral, level.
Through the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the UK and EU have agreed provisions on trade in services in line with our respective FTAs with Japan, but with some additional benefits for both sides. We have secured commitments in line with our objectives as set out in the UK Approach Document, meaning the agreement will promote cross border trade in services by providing service suppliers and investors with transparency and certainty about future trade with the EU at the multilateral level. More broadly, the UK is working at multilateral forums to encourage greater services trade liberalisation.
The agreement additionally includes provisions that will enable many UK businesses to continue to operate across borders without the need to establish in the EU and will afford them the clarity and transparency they need to navigate diverse Member State regimes at a bilateral level.