Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of rising shipping costs on the Scotch whisky industry.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Whilst no specific assessment has been made on the impact of rising shipping costs on the Scotch Whisky industry, according to the Scotch Whisky Association nearly 40% of businesses reported shipping costs doubling in the last 12 months.
Industries have reported that shipping costs have risen to a high level in international freight markets during 2021 and 2022. This is as a result of unprecedented levels of demand driven by changed consumer behaviour during the pandemic, and global operational factors that impacted capacity. This has been a worldwide impact and all types of goods using container shipping will have been affected. The operational issues have significantly improved, and market analysis by industry suggests that current demand is softening and that pricing levels have also started to decline in line with this.
The UK Government is in regular dialogue with the industry and aims to provide the framework for a forwarding-thinking, competitive alcoholic drinks sector which can grow, export and innovate in line with the Government’s ambitions.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department is taking to lift US tariffs on imports from the UK.
Answered by James Duddridge
We have been working closely with the US to reduce US tariffs on imports from the UK. This includes securing the removal of US section 232 tariffs on imports of UK steel and aluminium products, which were lifted on 1st June and which help a sector which supports 80,000 jobs across the UK. Last year we also resolved the long-running Large Civil Aircraft dispute, which included the removal of tariffs on other goods imposed by both sides, including on exports to the US of iconic UK goods such as cashmere and single-malt Scotch whisky.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of rising energy costs on the Scotch whisky industry.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Whilst no specific assessment has been made on the impact of rising energy costs on the Scotch Whisky industry, the UK Government is in regular dialogue with the industry, and aims to provide the framework for a forwarding-thinking, competitive alcoholic drinks sector which can grow, export and innovate in line with Government ambitions.
The Government is excited to see the investment in green energy sources being made in some distilleries and looks forward to seeing many further such schemes in the coming years as we continue the drive to greater efficiency.
The Government plans to announce a new six-month scheme - the Energy Price Guarantee for Businesses - to protect all businesses and other non-domestic energy users from soaring energy costs. It will offer comparable support to that being provided for consumers and we expect the scheme to be available in the autumn with further details on the practicalities to be announced soon. After this initial six-month scheme the Government will provide focused support for vulnerable sectors, targeted to make sure those most in need get support.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the impact of rising shipping costs on the Scotch whisky industry.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The importance of the Scotch whisky industry to the UK economy is recognised, providing £5.5bn Gross Value Added (GVA) to the economy and supporting more than 42,000 jobs across the country. The Department for International Trade engages regularly with The Scotch Whisky Association and individual whisky producers to support opportunities in overseas markets through Free Trade Agreements and understand challenges the industry may face. We closely monitor global trading conditions to assess the impact of factors such as shipping costs on our key export industries.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she has made an assessment of the role of the Scotch whisky industry in supporting trade relations with international markets.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
UK food and drink, including Scotch whisky, is renowned worldwide for its quality and provenance. It underpins the UK’s strong reputation in global trade of goods. In 2021, global Scotch whisky exports were worth £4.5bn to the UK economy. The Department for International Trade works closely with trade associations in the drinks industry, business representative organisations and the UK’s whisky producers to maximise opportunities in overseas markets for this outstanding British industry and to support UK trade relations in international markets.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of rising energy costs on the Scotch Whisky industry.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Whilst no specific assessment has been made on the impact of rising energy costs on the Scotch Whisky industry, the UK Government is in regular dialogue with the industry, and aims to provide the framework for a forwarding-thinking, competitive alcoholic drinks sector which can grow, export and innovate in line with Government ambitions.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will take steps to encourage the US administration to grant Irish whiskey from Northern Ireland the same level of distinctive product protection as currently afforded to Scotch whisky.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
I am aware of the concerns raised by the Irish Whiskey Association with regard to protection of Irish whiskey, and their objective that Irish whiskey be offered equivalent protection to Scotch whisky in the US. We sought to address this issue through our previous free trade agreement negotiations, and we will continue to raise it in our ongoing engagement with the US.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the wine and spirit industry.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Government is committed to ensuring our regulatory regime for wine and spirits supports innovation and growth in the market. This work sits alongside the Government's ambitious trade agenda that is opening up preferential market access and removing tariffs for our world-renowned products like Scotch whisky.
We have already rolled back unnecessary EU red tape by removing the requirement for VI-1 certification for wine imports, saving businesses money while ensuring high levels of consumer assurance. We are now working with the wine and spirits sectors to identify other legislative barriers to competitiveness and growth. We intend to continue the process of removing or reforming burdensome retained EU law over the coming months to further promote growth in the sector.
The Government also announced last year that we would boost the UK’s export capability by recruiting new agri-food and drink attachés. Their work will benefit the wine and spirit industry by maintaining and increasing lucrative access to high-potential overseas markets.
Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what her Department’s plans are to support Scotch whisky exports to China (a) in general and (b) through supporting continued adherence to a high whisky standard in domestic regulation.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
UK food and drink, including Scotch whisky, is renowned worldwide for its quality and provenance. In 2021, whisky was the highest value UK food and drink export to China and amounted to £200.1m. The UK government’s agriculture, food and drink counsellor in China works closely with the Scotch Whisky Association and whisky companies to promote whisky in China. This includes supporting the protection of intellectual property and whisky tasting and educational events and promotions, including via digital media. Our success is built on our strong domestic standards and the quality and safety of our products.
Asked by: Martin Docherty-Hughes (Scottish National Party - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department is taking to help support British businesses trying to secure hard currency in Nigeria.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Increasing and promoting trade with Nigeria is a priority for the UK Government. Total trade in goods and services between the UK and Nigeria was £3.5 billion last year (ending Q3 2021), an increase of 1.9% or £65 million from the previous year. At the most recent bi-annual UK-Nigeria Economic Development Forum government to government dialogue, held on 26 April, Ministers from both countries agreed to start a working group to discuss how to enhance the bilateral trading relationship.
Officials are working to support British business access foreign exchange facilities through the Economic Development Forum and the associated Finance and Financial Services Working Group.
From 2016 to 2021 UK exports of spirits to Nigeria increased by 92.1%. DIT continues to offer a wide range of support for British alcohol and spirit producers wishing to export into Nigeria. Through our work, import adjustment tax is now no longer applicable on Scotch Whisky exports to Nigeria.