Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Export Opportunities

Thursday 15 July 2021 · 2 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • UK exporters face significant opportunities with projected growth of 8% next year.
  • Food production businesses in some constituencies face challenges such as customs issues and disrupted supply chains.
  • The Scottish Government and SNP are urged to support trade deals, as Scotland trades more with the rest of the world than with the EU.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Kenny MacAskill
Business & Trade
Context

UK businesses are looking to expand their export markets. The question arises from the need to understand the current assessment of opportunities for exporters.

Question

What assessment her Department has made of the opportunities for businesses to export abroad?

Answer from Graham Stuart

Opportunities for UK exporters are significant. Exports are rebounding this year with a projected growth of 8% next year, due to rolled-over EU deals and ongoing negotiations. The first from-scratch agreement in principle was with Australia.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer does not address the specific ask for an assessment on opportunities but instead highlights general export trends and a trade deal.

How: Changes Subject To Praise Australian Deal

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Q2 Kenny MacAskill
Scotland Brexit Business & Trade
Context

Food production companies in the MP's constituency face challenges with customs and supply chains due to post-Brexit changes.

Question

That is all very well, but food production businesses in my constituency face a loss of trade, challenges with customs, and damage to their supply chains. They require to operate in today's land, not some promised land that their business might never survive to be able to see. What is the Minister going to do to ensure that their difficulties are minimised and that support for them is maximised? They need butter today, not a promise of jam tomorrow.

Answer from Graham Stuart

It would very much help if the Scottish Government and the SNP supported trade deals. Scotland trades more with the rest of the world than with the EU, and EU volumes in May were back to pre-pandemic levels. The teething problems are being dealt with, other issues minimised, and government support is available.

Not addressed: The answer does not address the specific ask for measures to minimize difficulties faced by businesses but instead criticizes SNP's stance on trade deals.

How: Criticises Scottish National Party

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