Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

New Free Trade Agreements

Thursday 15 July 2021 · 3 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • We now have trade deals with 68 countries around the world, plus the EU, covering trade worth 744 billion last year.
  • I am keen to find a route to short circuit the process of agreeing more trade deals like these with Commonwealth friends around the world.
  • Orkney Scottish Island cheddar could see its duty reduced by two thirds, and fish feed exporters will have an important new opportunity to export tariff-free to Norway.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 David Amess Con
Business & Trade
Context

The hon. Member for Harrow West recently asked questions about the progress on negotiating new free trade agreements.

Question

What recent progress has been made on negotiating new free trade agreements?

Answer from Ranil Jayawardena

We now have trade deals with 68 countries around the world, plus the EU, covering trade worth £744 billion last year. Last week, I signed a trade deal with Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein. It is one of the new generation of trade deals we are signing, which Britain has struck as an independent trading nation.

Answered
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Q2 David Amess Con
Foreign Affairs Business & Trade
Context

Following a meeting, the questioner urges for negotiations to start on an economic partnership agreement with the Maldives.

Question

While I wholeheartedly congratulate the Government on the agreements negotiated so far, as the chairman of the all-party parliamentary group for the Maldives, I urge my hon. Friend to negotiate something slightly different, an economic partnership agreement, with the Maldives Government, which would benefit not only our country but the core industry of sustainable tuna fishing in the Maldives.

Answer from Ranil Jayawardena

I can confirm that I am keen to find a route to short circuit the process of agreeing more trade deals like these with Commonwealth friends around the world.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer did not specify a timeline or concrete steps for starting negotiations on an economic partnership agreement with the Maldives.

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Q3 Angus MacNeil SNP
Brexit Business & Trade
Context

UK exports to Ireland have fallen by 47.6%, and seafood companies in Scotland have seen their costs treble.

Question

Some seafood companies in Scotland have seen their costs of selling to the continent treble from 32p a kilo to about £1 a kilo, and UK exports to Ireland have fallen by 47.6%. For every £490 lost to GDP due to Brexit, trade deals are not bringing in much: Australian deal £2; New Zealand deal £1; America deal £20; Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPA-TPP) between £3 and £8; has the DIT identified any other trade deal that might make up merely 0.1% of GDP, i.e., about £10 for every £490 of Brexit loss? Is there a figure for India yet?

Answer from Ranil Jayawardena

According to the figures I have seen, Orkney Scottish Island cheddar could see its duty reduced by two thirds. There will also be an important new opportunity for fish feed exporters to export tariff-free to Norway—previously high tariffs on fish feed slashed to nought.

Not addressed: The answer did not address the specific question about trade deals with India or their impact on GDP, focusing instead on a different aspect of trade deals.

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