Asked by Viscount Waverley To ask Her Majesty’s Government
what assessment they have made of the extent to which the United
Kingdom’s foreign policy supports the needs of United Kingdom
businesses to create and engage with trade opportunities globally.
The Earl of Courtown (Con) My Lords, promoting the UK’s
prosperity is one of Her Majesty’s...Request free trial
Asked by
-
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have
made of the extent to which the United Kingdom’s foreign
policy supports the needs of United Kingdom businesses to
create and engage with trade opportunities globally.
-
(Con)
My Lords, promoting the UK’s prosperity is one of Her
Majesty’s Government’s key foreign policy objectives. We
seek to create new opportunities for business by
championing open markets and promoting economic reform,
better business environments and key trade partners. Using
our network of overseas posts and programme funds, we work
to support British businesses to make the most of these
opportunities and we are preparing for an independent UK
trade policy, deepening dialogues with future FTA partners.
-
(CB)
My Lords, does the noble Earl wish to concede that a
combination of conflicting intradepartmental priorities and
policies, leading sometimes to a lack of visible
ministerial support, has a detrimental impact on industry’s
ability to enter and further new markets? Given that
government should not consider itself to be the sole
arbiter of bilateral relations, should not a primary focus
be to create an environment whereby the private sector
thrives, best achieved in step with policy and industry?
-
My Lords, the noble Viscount raises a number of points,
partly on ministerial involvement in this process. My noble
friend Lady Fairhead, the Minister for UK Export Finance,
is conducting a review of our export strategy. This puts
finance at the very heart of trade promotions. The
Government’s industrial strategy will result in
improvements to the support that the DIT can give other
firms.
-
(LD)
My Lords, there are those on the Benches opposite who
preach that, in the event of a hard Brexit, the WTO will be
our main avenue to trade. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic,
Trump and his team are already degrading the capability of
the WTO. Are the Government aware of the actions that are
already beginning to reduce the dispute resolution
capability of the WTO? What representations are the
Government making to the Trump Administration in support of
the WTO?
-
My Lords, as always with our closest ally, the United
States, we have continued relations with its
Administration. The Prime Minister’s speech in Florence
added new momentum to the negotiations by making a firm
commitment on the financial settlement and by proposing a
time-limited implementation period in the interests of both
the UK and the EU. On the points the noble Lord made about
the WTO, I will have to write to him on some of the detail,
but in leaving the EU we will need to update the terms of
our WTO membership because our commitments are currently
applied through the collective EU schedules.
-
(Con)
Will my noble friend accept that expanding trade
opportunities nowadays is very much a question of getting
in on the new networks and the new global value chains that
now dominate world trade, in contrast to only 20 years ago?
Will he agree that some of the networks that have sprung up
replacing the 20th century ones, such as the ASEAN, the
RECP, the SCO and others, are ones in which it is essential
for British representation to be more closely involved?
Finally, will he agree that our own network of which we are
already a member, the Commonwealth, which occupies
one-third of the whole of humankind, is also a very
valuable starting point in finding gateways into these new
trade areas and the great markets of the future?
-
My noble friend is quite right about these various groups
looking at trading opportunities in the future. In
particular he mentioned the Commonwealth. We are committed
to working with our friends and allies in the Commonwealth.
One must not forget that in March 2017 the International
Trade Secretary and the then Minister, my noble friend
, had lead roles in
the first Commonwealth Trade Ministers’ meeting, which
brought together more than 35 Commonwealth countries.
-
(Lab)
My Lords, last week the US Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur
Ross, spoke at the CBI conference. He said that the United
States could become the United Kingdom’s number one trading
partner post Brexit so long as we abandoned EU-style
regulations and standards. Will this be the Government’s
approach?
-
I cannot answer the whole question, but the noble Baroness
will be perfectly aware that the United States is already
our largest trading partner.
-
(CB)
My Lords, I speak as an importer and an exporter. Will the
noble Earl accept that 50% of this country’s trade is with
the European Union through our free trade agreement and
that a further 17% with 50 countries around the world is
via the European Union? Now, with the Japanese free trade
agreement, the European Union would come to almost 70% of
our trade. Will he accept that if we crash out on a no-deal
basis, it looks likely that we will jeopardise 70% of this
country’s trade?
-
My Lords, I refer back to the Florence speech made by my
right honourable friend the Prime Minister. Progress is
being made in this area. Both sides have agreed that
subsequent rounds have been conducted in a new spirit and
are determined to work together to reach an outcome that
can stand behind and work for our people. We all hope there
will be a proper agreement with the European Union, but if
not, WTO terms await us.
-
(Con)
My Lords, we know that companies that export are more
productive and generally more successful than others. Can my
noble friend comment on the pace and direction of exports?
-
My Lords, exports rose by 5.9% between 2015 and 2016 to £547
billion, reflecting increases in exports of both goods and
services. In percentage terms, the largest increases in UK
exports between 2015 and 2016 were to New Zealand, Sweden,
Turkey, Japan and Egypt. The UK’s five largest trading
partners remain the US, Germany, the Netherlands, France and
China.
-
(Lab)
My Lords, the Minister has twice referred to the progress
made since the Prime Minister made her much-vaunted speech in
Florence. Can he advise the House of two or three particular
manifestations of this progress?
-
My Lords, further progress is being made all the time on
these negotiations. If I have any more information to give
the noble Lord, I do not have it in my folder.
-
Noble Lords
Oh!
|
