Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) prospects of, and (2) benefits from, the proposed UK–Brazil Expanded Trade Partnership.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK is committed to enhancing our bilateral trading partnership with Brazil, an important partner for the UK with whom we traded £6.5bn in the 12 months ending June 2022[1].
For example, the signing of the UK-Brazil Double Taxation Agreement in November 2022 represents a significant step in enhancing our trading relationship across all sectors. When ratified, it will dramatically reduce tax uncertainty in cross-border trade.
We will work with the new administration to agree the best way to progress our relationship, including in areas of shared interest like Digital trade.
[1] GOV.UK. (2022) Trade and Investment Factsheets: Brazil.
Available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/trade-and-investment-factsheets-partner-names-beginning-with-a-or-b
(Accessed: 23 December 2022).
Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to offer incentives to UK business and industry to pursue new opportunities in the economy of South America, including clean growth and infrastructure.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
My department is working tirelessly to ensure that the demand for UK expertise in South America’s clean energy transition and infrastructure development is capitalised on.
Recently, the Government supported the development of regulatory frameworks for offshore wind projects in Brazil and Colombia; signed three government-to-government public infrastructure contracts worth £2.5 billion in Peru; and, through UK Export Finance, supported hospital construction and aerospace projects in Brazil and Guyana.
UK businesses working on these projects and more enjoy preferential access under the UK-Andean Countries Free Trade Agreement and UK-Chile Association Agreement, which also benefit those pursuing new opportunities.
Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proposed EU–Mercosur Association Agreement; and what plans they have to apply to join the Agreement.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK has no plans to join the EU’s Association Agreement with Mercosur as our approach is to negotiate our own trade agreements using our freedom outside of the EU.
We are monitoring the progress of EU-Mercosur talks. They reached agreement in principle on a deal in 2019 but the agreement is not yet ratified.
The Mercosur countries are important markets for the UK and we are committed to strengthening our trading relationship.
A recent demonstration of that commitment was the signing of a Double Taxation Agreement with Brazil in November. When ratified, the agreement will dramatically reduce tax uncertainty in cross-border trade.
Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to encourage the government of Brazil to avoid the destruction of the Amazon forest.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK is concerned about deforestation in the Amazon, which is having a detrimental impact on global climate and environmental conservation goals. The Government monitors trends of forest loss across the Amazon region, including Brazil, to inform our efforts.
We have a long-established partnership with Brazil which aims to: 1) improve the capacity of governments to reduce deforestation; ii) incentivise forest protection through results-based payments that are re-invested to protect forests, and boost livelihoods; iii) enable business and communities to grow rural economies sustainable whilst protecting forests.
The UK welcomes the commitment made by President Lula on his recent inauguration to end deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon under his mandate. We stand ready to work closely with the incoming administration in Brazil to achieve this, which the Prime Minister has discussed with President Lula.
At COP26, international donors including the UK announced support of $12 billion to assist forest nations to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030. This included a UK commitment of £300 million to support efforts in the Amazon region. The UK continues to support work with indigenous communities across Brazil, who are central to forest conservation efforts, including through the launch of the Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Forest Tenure Pledge which aims to help indigenous people secure their land rights.
Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to encourage the government of Brazil to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK regularly engages with the Brazilian government, civil society and other partners to talk about and monitor human rights developments and respect for the rule of law in Brazil. This engagement is at official and ministerial levels, including recently by the Foreign Secretary. Ahead of Brazil's Universal Periodic Review in November, the UK asked how Brazil intends to strengthen protections of human rights including of environmental and human rights defenders, as well as women at risk of trafficking and the LGBT+ community. We will continue to raise these issues with the incoming government of President-elect Lula da Silva.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Brazilian counterpart on the protection of human rights defenders in that country.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to promoting and defending the human rights of all individuals and regularly engages with government and civil society in Brazil on that basis. In October the Foreign Secretary spoke to Brazilian Foreign Minister Franҫa and shared with him our hope for peaceful elections in Brazil. At COP27, Lord Goldsmith met newly elected Lower House Representatives Sônia Guajajara and Joênia Wapichana, prominent indigenous rights leaders, with whom he discussed the effect of environmental crime on these communities. In Advanced Questions submitted to the Universal Periodic Review in November, the UK referenced the murders of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira and asked how Brazil intends to strengthen protections of human rights including for environmental and human rights defenders, as well as women at risk of trafficking and the LGBT+ community. We will continue to engage with relevant partners to raise these issues following President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's inauguration on 1 January 2023.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to protect UK intellectual property holders from unlicensed use of their IP globally.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government’s Counter-Infringement Strategy sets out its ambitions for intellectual property (IP) enforcement internationally.
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) works with multilateral bodies including the World Intellectual Property Organisation, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development to improve the prevention of, and enforcement action against, infringement of IP.
The IPO also works bilaterally with countries including China, Brazil, and India, across North America, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Its IP Attaché Network supports UK businesses and improves IP protection in key export markets.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of supporting a permanent seat for the Federative Republic of Brazil on the United Nations Security Council.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our position is well known. The United Kingdom has long called for the expansion of the Security Council in both the permanent and non-permanent categories. We support the creation of new permanent seats for India, Germany, Japan and Brazil, as well as permanent African representation on the Council. We also support an expansion of the non-permanent category of membership, taking the Security Council's total membership to somewhere in the mid-twenties. With these changes, the Council would be more representative of the world today and, coupled with a renewed commitment to the UN Charter, it would be better able to respond decisively to threats to international peace and security.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of supporting a permanent seat for Japan on the United Nations Security Council.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our position is well known. The United Kingdom has long called for the expansion of the Security Council in both the permanent and non-permanent categories. We support the creation of new permanent seats for India, Germany, Japan and Brazil, as well as permanent African representation on the Council. We also support an expansion of the non-permanent category of membership, taking the Security Council's total membership to somewhere in the mid-twenties. With these changes, the Council would be more representative of the world today. And, coupled with a renewed commitment to the UN Charter, it would be better able to respond decisively to threats to international peace and security.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what he has had discussions with his Brazilian counterpart on reports that seven people were killed and eight injured by gunshots, including two police officers, in anti-crime operations carried out by Brazil's Civil and Military Police on 25 November 2022 in Rio de Janeiro's North Zone.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of and continue to monitor reports of violence in Brazil. The UK is clear about our position on the importance of accountable democratic institutions, the rule of law and the safeguarding of human rights. We continue to raise the importance of adherence to the respecting of human rights in the carrying out of security operations when engaging with the Brazilian Government, political parties and civil society organisations.