Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made by the Secretary of State for International Trade with her counterparts in non-EU countries on any opportunities for trade deals after the transition period.

While there are many other markets the UK will look to for new agreements in the future, our shared values and strength of trade with the United States, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, make them the right places to focus our initial attention. We have published our negotiation objectives for a UK-US free trade agreement. We will publish more details on our approach to other priority partners in due course.

We are also continuing our programme to replicate the effects of existing EU trade agreements to ensure continuity for UK businesses following the transition period. By the time we left the EU, we had signed trade continuity agreements with 48 countries.

My Rt Hon Friend the Minister of State for Trade Policy (Conor Burns) is leading for the Department on engagement with Nations beyond US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.