Extract from
International Trade questions
Trade with the Indian Subcontinent
(Bolton North
East) (Con): What steps her Department is taking to facilitate
trade with the Indian subcontinent. [905344]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International
Trade (
): My Department continues to promote increased
trade with the subcontinent. My right hon. Friend the Secretary
of State and I recently took part in the 14th annual
UK-India JETCO—Joint Economic Trade
Committee—during which we set a more ambitious trajectory for an
enhanced trade partnership. Through our independent trade
preferences scheme, we are strengthening our trading
relationships with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh too, but our stronger
trade ties are already delivering advantages for British
businesses. I hope my hon. Friend will excuse a reference from
across the Pennines, as I am pleased to announce today that
Britain can now export polyhalite to India—it is
an organic fertiliser mined in Yorkshire.
: I welcome the
Minister to the Dispatch Box for his first questions, on his
birthday—congratulations. Bolton-born company Vernacare has big
international demand for its infection control products used in
hospitals. However, such companies face inflated import duties
when trading. Exporting to India is proving
cost- prohibitive for some businesses, so does he agree that
through increasing co-operation with India we
will be able to explore the reduction of import duties and thus
bear a bountiful boost for businesses in Bolton?
Mr Jayawardena: My hon. Friend is right to say that we can go
much further, and increasing bilateral trade and investment with
India will benefit both Indian
and British businesses, and, of course, our peoples. Here at home
this work will support businesses located in every corner of the
country, including Vernacare, in his constituency. It is just one
example of a company that my Department has worked with to
achieve significant success in India already,
including agreeing a five-year supply deal with Manipal, one of
Asia’s largest healthcare management groups
(Harrow West) (Lab/Co-op): Although the growth in
trade, particularly in services, with India is
good news, the UK’s trade in goods with India
increased by just 5% in the past five years, while the rest of
the G7 all saw double-digit growth, with the US and France seeing
increases of almost 40%. There is not a UK trade envoy with
India and the Select Committee thinks that visa
restrictions are holding Britain back. Why does the Minister
think other G7 countries are doing so much better on trade in
goods with India?
Mr Jayawardena: I am delighted that the hon. Gentleman has joined
the party in welcoming the fact that we will take back control of
our trade policy. We will now have the chance to shape our
relationship with India which we have not had in
the past. This Government have already delivered value to British
businesses worth £250 million a year, based on industry’s own
estimates, through unlocking exports of spirits, oats, pigs for
breeding, poultry and lamb to India.
Free Trade Agreements
(Dudley North) (Con): What assessment she has made of
the potential merits of free trade agreements with countries
other than the US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. [905352]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International
Trade (
): For the first time in almost 50 years, we are
able to determine our own trade policy, and there is much
interest in the potential of a free trade agreement with Britain
from our partners around the globe. We will weigh up a multitude
of considerations and we will be looking closely at the progress
we make on market access improvements in the months ahead.
While we remain open to taking forward negotiations with a number
of global partners, we have already had productive discussions on
how to enhance our trading relationship with the Government of
India as I detailed earlier, with the Gulf
Co-operation Council, and with the Southern Common Market, known
as Mercosur.
Topical Questions
(Meon
Valley) (Con): I start by expressing my sadness and sympathies
over the death of India’s former President,
Pranab Mukherjee, earlier this week. India is
the world’s second largest importer of arms, but although the UK
has a superb defence and security industry, including companies
such as Domo Tactical Communications in my constituency,
India is not one of our major markets. What more
can be done to export to, and strengthen defence ties with, the
largest of our Commonwealth allies? [905406]
Mr Jayawardena: I am sure the whole House will join my hon.
Friend in sending sympathies. We are ramping up defence
engagement. We supported Britain’s largest ever delegation to the
Indian defence expo in February this year,
including 160 British business leaders. India
increasingly prefers to contract defence and security deals via
Government-to-Government frameworks, so we are leading that
cross-government work to enable British businesses to do more in
the future.
