Category: Trade

  • Gareth Bacon – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Metro Mayors and Foreign Direct Investment

    Gareth Bacon – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Metro Mayors and Foreign Direct Investment

    The parliamentary question asked by Gareth Bacon, the Conservative MP for Orpington, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

    Gareth Bacon (Orpington) (Con)

    What recent discussions her Department has had with Metro Mayors on attracting more foreign direct investment.

    The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Kevin Hollinrake)

    I met Andy Street this week to talk about foreign direct investment, and Lord Johnson will meet the 10 Metro Mayors today and look to discuss how we can attract more investment into mayoral combined authorities and how the Department can connect strategic regional opportunities to major international capital, such as the sovereign investment partnerships that have been established over the past 18 months by the Department and the Office for Investment.

    Gareth Bacon

    I chair the all-party parliamentary group for London as a global city, and last year we published our first report, which featured analysis of the London-plus effect, a term coined by the London & Partners agency to show that our capital is the gateway to the world and that companies that first invest in London go on to contribute £7.6 billion and create 40,000 jobs throughout the country. Is my hon. Friend’s Department willing to consider convening roundtables with the Metro Mayors on how to maximise the potential benefit to the UK of the London-plus effect?

    Kevin Hollinrake

    My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Andy Street was very clear about the importance of London to regional development in the west midlands. The Department convenes roundtable joint sessions with the M10 Metro Mayors twice every year, in additional to ongoing ministerial-mayoral bilaterals and official-level engagement. Such meetings include the discussion of shared priorities in respect of international trade and investment and of greater collaboration throughout all regions to increase foreign direct investment from new and existing investors.

    Chris Elmore (Ogmore) (Lab)

    The Minister will know that there are no Metro Mayors in Wales, but there are city deals and leaders that link across the south-west of England into Bristol and across the south Wales belt. Will the Minister set out what he is doing to work with local government leaders in Wales to ensure that investment is brought into Welsh constituencies as well as those throughout England?

    Kevin Hollinrake

    The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. We are pleased that across York and North Yorkshire we are about to get our own Metro Mayor; I am sure he is working hard to bring that kind of governance to his area too, because it clearly delivers opportunity right across the country. As he knows, the FDI stock in the UK is worth £2 trillion, which is the second highest amount in the world. I am sure the opportunities would be beneficial to the hon. Gentleman’s constituents should he strike that kind of deal.

  • Rachel Hopkins – 2023 Parliamentary Question on UK Automotive Exports

    Rachel Hopkins – 2023 Parliamentary Question on UK Automotive Exports

    The parliamentary question asked by Rachel Hopkins, the Labour MP for Luton South, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

    Rachel Hopkins (Luton South) (Lab)

    What steps she is taking to help increase automotive exports.

    The Minister of State, Department for Business and Trade (Ms Nusrat Ghani)

    The Department is working across Whitehall and with industry to secure export-led investment as the sector makes the transition to zero-emission vehicles, including new electric vehicle models, along with battery gigafactories and the electric vehicle supply chain. We have a dedicated export support system throughout the UK in the shape of our international trade advisers, ensuring that the automotive industry is the country’s biggest single exporter of goods, exporting nearly 80% of vehicle production—about 6% of the UK’s total exported goods.

    Rachel Hopkins

    If we are to continue to drive British automotive exports, it is critical that automotive businesses such as Vauxhall in Luton can make the transition to manufacturing electric vehicles effectively. The rules of origin from 2024 onwards highlight the need to attract the wider electrified supply chain to the UK as soon as possible. How is the Minister working with the automotive sector to expand our domestic electric vehicle supply chain—especially in respect of batteries—to avoid any future tariffs when rules of origin come into effect?

    Ms Ghani

    The hon. Lady will hopefully find some comfort in the fact that I have many meetings with the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and have met the automotive sector multiple times to deal with this issue. We are very much aware of the rules-of-origin issue, which is why we are investing so much in batteries. In particular, the Faraday battery challenge is a £541 million project to help us to develop new battery technologies. I have mentioned already that I was in Cape Town to deal with the diversification of access to critical minerals in supply chains to ensure that we can process them and manufacture here.

    Mr Richard Bacon (South Norfolk) (Con)

    Would the Minister like to congratulate Group Lotus in my constituency, which exports more than 70% of its car production? Would she like to take the opportunity to come to Hethel to see the new Lotus Evija supercar, which can do nought to 180 mph in nine seconds?

    Ms Ghani

    I am not sure that I can speak as far as that car goes, but I am more than happy to come to Hethel to visit Group Lotus. The amount of progress that has been made by experts, academics and scientists when it comes not only to zero emission vehicles but to speed is remarkable.

  • Giles Watling – 2023 Parliamentary Question on a Trade Envoy for the Commonwealth

    Giles Watling – 2023 Parliamentary Question on a Trade Envoy for the Commonwealth

    The parliamentary question asked by Giles Watling, the Conservative MP for Clacton, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

    Giles Watling (Clacton) (Con)

    What assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing a trade envoy for the Commonwealth.

    The Minister of State, Department for Business and Trade (Nigel Huddleston)

    The countries of the Commonwealth are important trading partners. Our total trading relationship was worth more than £146 billion in the 12 months to September 2022, which is why my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has already appointed trade envoys to 15 Commonwealth nations. We have trade agreements with 33 Commonwealth members, and five of the 11 members of the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership are in the Commonwealth as well.

    Giles Watling

    As chairman of the 1922 committee’s Back-Bench foreign affairs policy committee, I recently shared our report with ministerial colleagues. One of its recommendations was the creation of a Commonwealth-specific trade envoy post. Does my hon. Friend agree that in this post-Brexit era, increasing trade and movement between the Commonwealth and the UK should be a top priority to foster economic growth? By the way, this is not a pitch for that job.

    Nigel Huddleston

    Yes, I am afraid that those jobs are at the discretion of the Prime Minister.

    I hear what my hon. Friend is saying. We already have extensive coverage through the existing network, but we review the network regularly because we are committed to working with our allies in the Commonwealth to remove the barriers to trade and strengthen trading relationships to foster economic growth. Growing exports to Commonwealth countries is a priority, and trade increased by 25% in the year to September 2022. As for movement, we have a new global immigration system which is vital in supporting trade and economic growth, and the movement of business people on a temporary basis promotes and supports trade in services and goods and investment activities. Recognition of professional qualifications and business travel are always an important part of our trade deals.

  • Wera Hobhouse – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Trade with European Countries

    Wera Hobhouse – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Trade with European Countries

    The parliamentary question asked by Wera Hobhouse, the Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

    Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)

    What steps she is taking to help increase trade with European countries.

    The Minister of State, Department for Business and Trade (Nigel Huddleston)

    Europe remains a vital destination for British businesses, with exports of over £386 billion in the year to September 2022. That is up almost 25%, in current prices, on the previous year. As we speak, the Secretary of State is in Rome to establish the UK-Italy export and investment promotion dialogue, which will help to strengthen practical co-operation on exports in high-performing sectors and promote inward investment. We are also working closely with EU member states to tackle priority barriers and unlock export opportunities for UK businesses.

    Wera Hobhouse

    More than half of firms surveyed by the British Chambers of Commerce are struggling with the new post-Brexit export system. The Office for National Statistics reports that Brexit costs the economy £1 million per hour, and the UK economy has not recovered as well as other countries post covid. What plans does the Minister have to reduce trade barriers and EU border bureaucracy, which have hugely increased since Brexit?

    Nigel Huddleston

    As I said earlier, I hope that we can look at the opportunities of leaving the EU as well as trying to fight past battles. There are a host of opportunities; for example, I do not think that the EU had a particularly proud record on services around the globe. We are opening up services for many companies, which under the EU we were to a very large degree constrained in doing. We have huge resources for supporting businesses. Trade with the EU has been growing considerably, and we will do everything we can to support further growth.

    Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)

    These barriers have had a greater impact on EU trade than on the UK. When does the Minister anticipate the EU will wake up to what is in our mutual interest?

    Nigel Huddleston

    My right hon. Friend makes a perfectly good point. Our agreement with the EU is one of the most thorough and comprehensive trade agreements, but we need to work further. We are constantly looking at opportunities—country by country, industry subsector by subsector—to open up more trade by reducing the barriers. These are barriers that also existed when we were in the EU.

    Mr Speaker

    I call the shadow Minister.

    Gareth Thomas (Harrow West) (Lab/Co-op)

    Over the past three years, according to the latest German trade figures, exports to Germany are up by almost a third from the US, by almost a quarter from the rest of the EU and by more than 10% from China, yet exports from Britain to Germany are down. Everybody else’s exports are up; Britain’s are down. Is it a lack of support to our exporters to Germany, is it the poor deal that the Conservative party negotiated with the EU, or does the Minister blame British business for the situation, as one of last year’s Prime Ministers once did?

    Nigel Huddleston

    Again, all I have to say is that I have much greater confidence in British industries taking advantage of opportunities, not only in the EU but around the world. I wish others in this Chamber shared that optimism and confidence in British business.

  • Mark Eastwood – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Export Opportunities for SMEs

    Mark Eastwood – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Export Opportunities for SMEs

    The parliamentary question asked by Mark Eastwood, the Conservative MP for Dewsbury, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

    Mark Eastwood (Dewsbury) (Con)

    What steps her Department is taking to help increase export opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses.

    The Minister of State, Department for Business and Trade (Ms Nusrat Ghani)

    UK exports have grown by 24% year on year, and our landmark 12-point export strategy will challenge Government and the private sector to reach £1 trillion-worth of exports a year. As part of that strategy, we created the export support service, which has brought together helplines and services across Government to build a one-stop shop for UK exporters facing challenges in exporting to the EU. We are also delivering for businesses through our dedicated team of international trade advisers, reinforced by Department for International Trade events and programmes such as the UK Export Academy.

    Mark Eastwood

    Last month, I was delighted to co-host my first successful export academy at Kirklees College in association with the Department for International Trade and UK Export Finance. Will the Minister outline how local DIT officers and UKEF can assist SMEs to export their goods and services across the world?

    Ms Ghani

    Mr Speaker, may I first thank you for your leadership in hosting President Zelensky yesterday? It really was a humbling moment for us all. My hon. Friend the Member for Dewsbury (Mark Eastwood), with his can-do attitude, is constantly championing everybody in Dewsbury. As he may know, UK Export Finance offers a range of trade, finance and insurance products to help small and medium-sized businesses fulfil export contracts. It works with more than 100 private sector partners, including all major UK banks. UKEF support is underpinned by the innovative general export facility, a product designed to give SME exporters more flexibility when accessing trade finance. It unlocked almost £250 million of working capital loans in the last financial year. Local trade has obviously helped strengthen the “Made in the UK” branding, which provides export support to SMEs across the country. Face-to-face support for exporters in England is delivered via a network of around 200 international trade advisers. There is so much to say, but I think I should stop there.

    Mr Speaker

    Hear, hear. I call Matt Western.

    Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)

    SMEs in my area have been doing a huge amount of business internationally. One such company has been exporting 80% of its business for decades. In recent years, it has been challenged by China, and has had intellectual property issues; its IP has been stolen. I am afraid to say that it felt unsupported by the Department for International Trade. It faces an issue in Germany. Will the Minister meet me to help this business with the challenge that it faces in those countries?

    Ms Ghani

    The beauty of having former business Ministers in the new Department is that we are across most of these issues, including the issue of IP. I am more than happy to sit down with the hon. Gentleman, or to make sure that the right Minister does, because we need to protect our IP.

  • Greg Smith – 2023 Parliamentary Question on US State-level Market Barriers

    Greg Smith – 2023 Parliamentary Question on US State-level Market Barriers

    The parliamentary question asked by Greg Smith, the Conservative MP for Buckingham, in the House of Commons on 9 February 2023.

    Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)

    What recent discussions she has had with her US counterpart on reducing market barriers at the state level in the US.

    The Minister of State, Department for Business and Trade (Nigel Huddleston)

    We are taking tangible steps to improve our trade relationship with our largest bilateral trading partner, the United States. We have already signed state-level memorandums of understanding with Indiana, and North and South Carolina, which we are using to address barriers and promote British business in priority areas such as procurement, renewable energy, automotive, and life sciences. Together, those states imported more than £3.3 billion of UK goods in 2021. In December, the previous Minister for Trade Policy met counterparts in California to discuss an MOU, and counterparts in Utah to advance our talks. We are also making progress with Oklahoma and Texas, alongside our regular engagement with states across the US.

    Greg Smith

    I welcome my hon. Friend’s answer, particularly the priority areas he outlined. However, from financial services to online shopping, digital trade is at the heart of doing business with our closest ally—the United States. Will my hon. Friend update the House on the progress made on removing barriers specific to such digital trade with individual states?

    Nigel Huddleston

    My hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight the importance of the digital economy. We very much see digital trade as an excellent area to focus on, deepening ties between the US and the UK. As part of that, we are keen to explore where we might be able to facilitate co-operation and promote digital trade with the US at state level. Further, the US-UK trade dialogues in Baltimore and Aberdeen last year helped to identify a range of trade-related areas for the two countries to collaborate on, and we agreed to strengthen further our bilateral trade in a range of areas, including on digital trade.

    Mr Speaker

    I call the shadow Minister.

    Ruth Cadbury (Brentford and Isleworth) (Lab)

    After failing to get a trade deal with the United States, the Government have resorted to signing non-binding agreements with separate US states. The Minister’s answer to the hon. Member for Buckingham (Greg Smith) on the different sectors was interesting, but the Government have refused to confirm what economic benefits these agreements will bring to the UK economy. I give the Minister another chance: will he tell me what value in pounds and pence these agreements will bring to our economy?

    Nigel Huddleston

    Again, I am somewhat disappointed that the Opposition are talking down the opportunities we have. These MOUs seek to bolster the already strong trading relationships with US states, which, as I said, are worth £3.3 billion of UK goods. As we move through and implement the MOUs—we have good faith and goodwill with the people we have been negotiating with—we will inevitably increase our trade volumes. The US is already our strongest and most important trading partner, accounting for about 16% of the UK’s overall trade, and growing.

    Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)

    In my constituency, companies are able to sell to Europe, the far east, South Africa and south America, but they have difficulty selling their products—foodstuffs that come from our farms across Strangford in Northern Ireland—to the US. Will the Minister give some indication of what can be done in conjunction with the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland to open those doors to sales?

    Nigel Huddleston

    We are fighting for opportunities right across the UK. As I said, the US is a really important trading partner. With the MOUs, we are seeking further opportunities, but we are also working on removing trade barriers and inhibitions to trade. For example, since leaving the EU, we have secured major trade deals with the US, reinstating beef and lamb imports and ending damaging steel and aluminium tariffs, so we are working in individual sectors to try to find further opportunities at both state and federal level.

  • Kemi Badenoch – 2023 Speech at Lancaster House

    Kemi Badenoch – 2023 Speech at Lancaster House

    The speech made by Kemi Badenoch, the Secretary of State for International Trade, at Lancaster House in London on 24 January 2023.

    Welcome to Lancaster House.

    What a spectacular setting. The sort of setting that makes me realise how lucky I am to do the job I do.

    Lancaster House has been the venue for G7 meetings, the backdrop for royal TV adaptions and the location for numerous grand political speeches. The very best of the UK.

    So it’s only fitting that among our audience this evening we’ve got Fever-Tree, who are now the number one premium mixer firm in the world.

    Creative Nature CEO Julianne Ponan and Scanning Pens co-founder Jack Churchill, both honoured for their services to industry in the New Year’s Honours….

    and Nestlé who have just officially opened their new £30m mineral water distribution facility in Buxton, Derbyshire.

    I could carry on, but if I listed all the achievements of people in the room there wouldn’t be any time left for my speech.

    And also, I’d rather talk to you than at you. So I will keep this brief.

    The first part of my speech focuses on my priorities for the year ahead.

    The second is about how I want to work with you to deliver them for the country.

    When I was the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, it was my job to focus on economic growth. And I always felt that it needed its own department. That’s why I am thrilled to be running DIT – which really is the Government’s flagship economic growth department.

    More importantly, the Prime Minister this month laid out his five priorities for the Government, the second of which was growing the economy.

    Everything DIT does is about creating economic growth…

    …whether it’s supporting exporters…

    securing foreign investment to create UK jobs…

    or building the global security in trade – working with old friends and new – to help British businesses thrive.

    In doing all that, we have an exciting vision to sell. Of a high-skill, high-tech economy with the capability to thrive in the modern world. And one that is finding the life sciences solutions for a healthier world.

    So how are we going to deliver that economic growth; those opportunities; and the secure global trading environment that we need?

    It’s through these five priorities.

    First, we will:

    Remove trade barriers – DIT will knock down 100 unnecessary blockers standing in the way of helping UK businesses sell more and grow more, creating new jobs and paying higher wages.

    We have already made progress. Last year, we opened up the Chinese market to cosmetic companies who sell cruelty-free products – that’s a half a billion pound opportunity for British business.

    Second, we will:

    Grow UK exports every year until we hit our Race to a Trillion – selling over a trillion pounds of goods and services to the world a year by 2030.

    There are, as I have said recently, and many times, a number of people who keep wanting to talk the UK down. Whatever you have read in papers today, the fact is that UK exports are growing – and even to the EU.

    You might not know that I am also the Secretary of State for UK Export Finance. It’s great to see Tim Reid, the newly appointed CEO, here tonight.

    In just five years UKEF has provided over £30 billion to help firms around the country export. And that money has a direct impact on lives – supporting as many as 72,000 jobs.

    Exports are currently at over £800 billion – and that doesn’t happen by accident. We set the challenge of accelerating the race to a trillion to push companies to export, creating more jobs and increasing wages, and that is why it’s my second priority.

    Third, we will:

    Make the UK the undisputed top investment destination in Europe, attracting new investment into communities and helping to level-up the country.

    The UK is a leading destination for foreign investment. However, this position is not a given. There is fierce global competition for every pound of finance.

    I want to make the UK the most attractive place to invest in Europe, enticing companies from across the world to put their money into communities across the country.

    Fourth, we will:

    Seal high quality deals with India and CPTPP – they have a combined population of nearly 2 billion consumers – opening exciting opportunities in fast-growing markets for years to come.

    That’s essentially a quarter of the world’s population in two huge deals, meaning companies such as Coventry-based driverless car manufacturer, Aurrigo, could benefit on its exports to huge markets in Vietnam and Japan.

    But I want to be clear that just signing on the dotted line is not the objective. These deals will only be agreed if they are the right deals for the people of this country. Bringing in jobs and investment to left-behind communities and capitalising on those areas in which we specialise.

    The fifth and final priority is to…

    Defend free trade, and make the world more secure by strengthening supply chains and standing up to protectionism.

    We are a trading nation at heart and by tradition. So we know that free trade is the surest way to prosperity that the world has.

    So that’s the pitch. I will be your biggest defender, your keenest saleswoman, and your proudest backer.

    Because the success of business is the success of the British people – more jobs, higher pay, and better lives.

    Here’s the catch – I need your help to deliver it.

    Some of you will know I was a software engineer and a systems analyst before I became a politician.

    That means I’m a problem solver at heart.

    So when our Indian trade talks hit a bit of an impasse, I didn’t pick up the phone, I got on a plane. That deal’s not done yet, but it’s back on track.

    But to illustrate my point, think about something you use every day, when you open your emails, your WhatsApp, your text messages.

    The QWERTY keyboard.

    One of the greatest problem-solving inventions of all time and still going strong in its 150th year.

    The layout was created because the technology of early typewriters couldn’t cope with clusters of commonly-used keys being too close together.

    Those keys became stuck and blocked – the QWERTY layout unstuck and unblocked them.

    That’s what we need to do as we seek new export markets and drive international investment.

    It’s too easy for trade to become stuck and blocked. For well-meaning rules to become needless regulation.

    But I can’t solve your problems if I don’t know what they are. I need to know which keys are sticking, which levers need pulling, which wheels need greasing.

    So I need you to tell me the problems you face.

    A Lancashire firm called VetPlus did just that. They came to DIT a little while ago and said they had a paperwork problem in selling their pet food products into India.

    We fixed it. And the company now expects to do £1.5m of additional business over the next five years.

    This is where my team comes in.

    We have a new Permanent Secretary at DIT – Gareth Davies. He joins Crawford in adding yet more knowledge and experience to the department’s top team.

    I also have a brilliant team of ministers…

    Greg Hands, back in the department once again to help remove barriers and negotiate FTAs…

    Andrew Bowie, our advocate for British exports…

    Nigel Huddleston, bringing the FTAs we are negotiating into law and working to defend global free trade…

    And Lord Johnson, banging the drum for investment into the UK.

    Please come and talk to any one of us.

    And if you’re not getting the access to the department you need, let us know. If there are things we should be doing differently, do tell us.

    I want DIT to be both a department of economic growth and business engagement. But business engagement with a purpose.

    I wish I had enough time to meet with everyone, but I don’t.

    So instead I will say that the best meetings I’ve had come with a purpose, an agenda and an objective.

    That’s how I work – and it’s not just my time that’s precious but yours too.

    If we get this relationship right I can be your problem-solver-in-chief.

    I look forward to working with you all to deliver for UK PLC..

    Thank you.

  • House of Commons Library – 2022 Report on the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement

    House of Commons Library – 2022 Report on the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement

    The document published by the House of Commons Library on 8 November 2022, written by Dominic Webb.

    Text of Report (in .pdf format)

  • Helen Liddell – 2023 Comments on the Scrutiny of the Australia Trade Bill (Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke)

    Helen Liddell – 2023 Comments on the Scrutiny of the Australia Trade Bill (Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke)

    The comments made by Helen Liddell, Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke, on 15 January 2023.

    I do not think there has been sufficient scrutiny of Trade Bills and that is not helped by the non availability of a trade strategy. This is the prevailing view of the International Agreements Committee of which I am a member. And a number of Peers from around the House shared that view.

    The jury is out on whether we will get sufficient information in future, India discussions are likely to be a test of that.

  • Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2022 Government Response to the International Trade Committee Reports

    Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2022 Government Response to the International Trade Committee Reports

    The Government response issued to the 1st and 2nd reports issued by the International Trade Committee.

    Text of Report (in .pdf format)