Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement

Thursday 19 November 2020 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The UK-Japan comprehensive economic partnership agreement secures opportunities for businesses in the north-west of England, which export goods worth 380 million to Japan.
  • The deal includes an SME chapter to make it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises to navigate customs and access opportunities.
  • The agreement retains all tariff benefits previously negotiated for the aerospace and automotive industry in Burnley, alongside additional benefits.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Antony Higginbotham
Business & Trade
Context

The UK has a deal with Japan, but there is concern about the benefits reaching small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the north-west of England.

Question

What steps her Department has taken to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises in the north-west of England can benefit from the UK-Japan comprehensive economic partnership agreement?

Answer from Elizabeth Truss

Our deal with Japan secures opportunities for businesses in the north-west, which currently export goods worth £380 million to Japan. We have agreed an SME chapter that will make it easier for SMEs to cut the red tape on customs and ensure they have access to a dedicated website of opportunities.

Answered
Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q2 Antony Higginbotham
Business & Trade
Context

Burnley has a significant engineering sector that creates specialised parts for aircraft and cars.

Question

Burnley has a significant engineering sector, creating highly specialised parts for aircraft and cars, so will my right hon. Friend tell us what impact the UK-Japan deal will have on those businesses in Burnley?

Answer from Elizabeth Truss

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that the aerospace and automotive industry is incredibly important for Burnley. That is why it was important that we saw all the tariff benefits that were previously negotiated retained in the new deal, as well as additional benefits, such as a new data and digital chapter that goes far beyond what the EU has agreed and really helps to support our advanced manufacturing sector.

Answered
Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q3 Emily Thornberry Lab Islington South and Finsbury
Business & Trade
Context

The Secretary of State has claimed that the UK-Japan deal goes far beyond the original EU-Japan deal.

Question

The Secretary of State has repeatedly claimed that the deal that she signed with Japan goes far beyond the original EU-Japan deal, so I return to the question that I asked her two months ago: will she tell us, in billions of pounds and percentages of growth, what the forecast benefits are for UK exports in GDP from her deal, compared with the forecast benefits of retaining the existing EU-Japan deal?

Answer from Elizabeth Truss

It is interesting that the right hon. Lady is interested in the difference, because the Labour party did not support the original deal with Japan. If it was down to Labour, we would not even have this deal in the first place. We have been very clear about the additional benefits that we have secured: better provisions on digital and data, better provisions on business mobility, a better position on intellectual property, better protection of British geographical indicators.

Not addressed: Quantifying economic forecast differences between UK-Japan deal versus EU-Japan deal

How: Criticising Labour'S Stance, Comparing Deals With Other Countries

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q4 Emily Thornberry Lab Islington South and Finsbury
Business & Trade
Context

The Secretary of State has claimed that the UK-Japan deal goes far beyond the EU-Japan deal but refuses to quantify the difference.

Question

What is going on? The Secretary of State claims that the UK-Japan deal goes far beyond the EU-Japan deal but will not quantify the difference. Why not? If she will not publish the exact figures at this point, will she at least do one basic thing and simply state on the parliamentary record whether the growth in our exports and GDP is forecast to be higher as a result of the UK-Japan deal than it was under the EU-Japan deal?

Answer from Elizabeth Truss

I think it is extraordinary that the right hon. Lady is asking me to carry out economic analysis on behalf of the EU. She has not asked me about the Australia-Japan deal and whether that is better or about the deal that China has with Japan or any other deals. Why is she me asking me about the EU? We have left the EU, and it is no longer our responsibility to do economic calculations for it.

Not addressed: Comparing UK-Japan deal benefits quantitatively versus EU-Japan deal

How: Criticising Labour'S Stance, Comparing Deals With Other Countries

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)