Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what her planned timetable is for negotiating trade agreements with (a) India, (b) Canada and (c) Mexico.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
We have an ambitious programme of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations to help our nation become a truly Global Britain.
We have completed seven rounds of negotiations with India, four rounds of negotiations with Canada, and two rounds of negotiations with Mexico.
We look forward to concluding negotiations at the earliest opportunity, but it is the substance of trade deals that is important, not the timing.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when she expects the UK to meet the Government's target for 80 per cent of UK Trade to be carried out under Free Trade Agreements.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK Government has secured trade agreements with 71 countries plus the EU. These partners accounted for 63% (£814bn) of UK bilateral trade in 2021. It is important to remember that when the Government adopted this target the United States was in ongoing talks on a free trade agreement (FTA) with the UK but has since taken a different approach to FTA talks under the Biden administration. The US is 16.6% of our total global trade. We continue to make progress, signing three Memoranda of Understanding at state-level to facilitate trade and investment opportunities.
Our Free Trade Agreement programme continues at unprecedented pace and scale. We are negotiating with seven partners concurrently – India, the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Canada, Mexico, Israel and Greenland. We are also in preparations to begin negotiations on new trade deals with Switzerland and South Korea.
We have an ambitious programme, but it is the substance of trade deals that is important, not the timing.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what proportion of UK international trade is covered by free trade agreements.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We have an ambitious programme of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations to help our nation become a truly Global Britain. The UK Government has already secured trade agreements with 71 countries plus the EU, partners that accounted for 63.1% (£814bn) of UK bilateral trade in 2021. Our FTA programme continues at pace, with trade negotiations currently live with eight markets – India, the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Canada, Mexico, Israel and Greenland, as well as negotiating a Digital Trade Agreement with Ukraine.
Asked by: Mark Eastwood (Conservative - Dewsbury)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when she plans to publish the full details of the New Commonwealth Deal.
Answered by James Duddridge
We are committed to working with our friends and allies in the Commonwealth to remove unnecessary barriers to free and fair trade, strengthen trading relationships, and building better, greener and more resilient global supply chains.
Of the 55 other Commonwealth members, we have trade agreements with 33 and an additional 16 qualify for preferential access to the UK market under the Developing Countries Trading Scheme.
There are no current plans to proceed with a Commonwealth New Deal as we are negotiating an ambitious programme of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) at unprecedented pace to help our nation become a truly Global Britain. We are progressing negotiations to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), as well as negotiating FTAs with India, Canada, Mexico, Israel, and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department has a target for 80 per cent of the UK's trade to be covered by Free Trade Agreements by the end of 2022.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK Government has secured trade agreements with 71 countries plus the EU. These partners accounted for 63% (£808bn) of UK bilateral trade in 2021. This includes agreements with Australia and New Zealand as well as the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which goes beyond continuity.
The Department for International Trade’s comprehensive Free Trade Agreement programme continues at unprecedented pace, with trade negotiations currently live with seven markets – India, the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), India and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Canada, Mexico, Israel and Greenland.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many officials in her Department are working on trade negotiations with Mexico.
Answered by Conor Burns
The Department for International Trade (DIT) operates a flexible resourcing model to maximise efficiency across our Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations. The Department is currently delivering seven FTA negotiations and the number of staff working on these at any point in time will change depending on the stage and scale of the deal. Staff also often work across multiple negotiations so it is not possible to quantify the number for each negotiation.
As of August 2022, DIT had approximately 460 staff working in the Trade Negotiations Group. This figure does not include other staff in DIT who also contribute to trade negotiations.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
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 ensure that British businesses are able to trade overseas in the context of the UK no longer being part of EU trade agreements.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
To date, we have agreed trade deals with 71 countries plus the EU, covering trade worth £808 billion of our bilateral trade in 2021.
We are just getting started. Negotiations to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership are continuing. In addition, we have launched negotiations with India, Canada, Mexico, and the Gulf Cooperation Council, plus we are preparing to begin negotiations on new trade deals with Israel and Switzerland.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what progress her Department has made on achieving its aim of covering 80 per cent of the UK's external trade by trading with countries with which the UK has entered into a free trade agreement.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
To date the UK Government has secured trade agreements with 71 countries plus the EU, partners that accounted for 63.2% (£808bn) of UK bilateral trade in 2021. This includes agreements with Australia and New Zealand as well as the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which goes beyond continuity. We are continuing to work at pace to deliver our comprehensive free trade agreement programme. Recent developments include launching negotiations with Mexico and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Additionally, in June we concluded the fourth round of negotiations with India, as well as the second round of negotiations with Canada.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent assessment she has made of the proportion of the UK's external trade with countries with which the UK has a free trade agreement.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
To date the UK Government has secured trade agreements with 71 countries plus the EU, partners that accounted for 63.2% (£808bn) of UK bilateral trade in 2021. This includes agreements with Australia and New Zealand as well as the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which goes beyond continuity. We are continuing to work at pace to deliver our comprehensive free trade agreement programme. Recent developments include launching negotiations with Mexico and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Additionally, in June we concluded the fourth round of negotiations with India, as well as the second round of negotiations with Canada.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps she has taken to increase the proportion of UK trade through free trade agreements.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
We have secured trade agreements with 70 countries plus the EU, partners that accounted for £808bn of UK bilateral trade in 2021.
The Department for International Trade can report significant progress this year. We have signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with New Zealand and a Digital Economy Agreement with Singapore. We have completed three rounds of FTA negotiations with India and one round with Canada. We have completed a Call for Input on an enhanced FTA with Israel, and launched FTA negotiations with Mexico, Switzerland and Greenland. We are preparing to launch FTA negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council.