Defence Exports 2020-02-03
2020-02-03
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Questions & Answers
Q1
Direct Answer
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Context
The question follows a statement by the Secretary of State for Defence about supporting UK defence manufacturing and promoting defence exports.
What recent steps he has taken with the Secretary of State for International Trade to support UK defence manufacturing by promoting defence exports?
On behalf of the Prime Minister, I chair the defence, security and exports working group, which is attended by the International Trade Secretary. Ministers from Defence and International Trade support regular overseas trade missions and attend a wide range of international exhibitions, most notably last year's Defence and Security Equipment International, where we jointly hosted 58 international delegations, demonstrating the best of British defence exports.
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Q2
Direct Answer
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Context
The Secretary of State for Defence was asked about the importance of the US defence market to both countries and how to prioritise the defence sector in upcoming discussions.
The Secretary of State will know how much of our defence equipment pipeline is coming from the US. He will also know how much our excellent UK defence industry sells into the US. Will he make sure that, as we start the US-UK free trade agreement discussions, the defence sector is one of the sectors that is prioritised?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The US defence market is incredibly important for both the United States and the United Kingdom. Some of my honourable colleagues in this House and I lobbied for the original UK-US defence tech trade treaty in 2006. We believe that it is so important. The reality is that, yes, we have more work to do. These trade deals will be incredibly important to make sure that we secure British jobs in order to sell aerospace and partner in aerospace across both countries.
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