Extracts from Commons proceedings: Israel - July 15

Friday, 16 July 2021 07:47

Extract from International Trade Questions

UK-Israel Trade Deal

Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)
What plans she has to enhance the UK’s trade deal with Israel following her recent visit to that country; and if she will make a statement.

Scott Benton (Blackpool South) (Con)
What plans she has to enhance the UK’s trade deal with Israel

The Secretary of State for International Trade (Elizabeth Truss) [V]
We have a strong bilateral trade relationship with Israel worth £5 billion a year. On my recent visit to Israel I discussed our ambitions for a new free trade agreement to create further opportunities for British business.

Michael Fabricant [V]
My right hon. Friend will know from her visit to Israel that it has the highest number of high-tech start-ups in the world. Moreover, the latest Intel chips in all our computers were designed in Israel by Intel. Does my right hon. Friend have any plans to enhance the trading relationship in high-tech products with the state of Israel

Elizabeth Truss
My hon. Friend is completely right. The UK and Israel are both leaders in technology, from agri-tech to gaming to med-tech, and there are huge opportunities for us to work together. What we will be seeking in the new trade deal with Israel is an advanced digital data and technology chapter that looks to the industries of the future to give both countries more opportunities.

Scott Benton
I welcome the Secretary of State’s commitment to sign an advanced free trade agreement with our close ally Israel and I hope she enjoyed her first ever visit to the country this month. Israel is a growing export market for UK companies, so what steps is she taking to champion UK-made products being sold in Israel and what more can be done to boost UK exports of things such as cars, machinery and clothing?

Elizabeth Truss
The current UK-Israel partnership is already worth £5 billion a year, but we want to turbo-charge that. We are providing practical assistance for UK firms through our trade adviser network, as well as strong support from UK Export Finance to help to finance those exports into Israel

Emily Thornberry (Islington South and Finsbury) (Lab)
We all welcome the prospect of an enhanced trade deal with Israel and I congratulate the Secretary of State on her efforts to secure it. Among the many improvements that we hope the new deal delivers, will she guarantee to remove the clause mistakenly included in the 2019 UK-Israel agreement that prohibits manufacturers in UK freeports from sharing in the benefits of that deal? Can she tell us when we can expect revised deals with the 20 other countries, including Switzerland and Singapore, where the same freeport blunder still applies?

Elizabeth Truss
The clauses that the right hon. Lady is referring to are absolutely standard in free trade agreements. Every agreement is the result of a negotiation with the relevant country, and of course we secure the best possible outcome in terms of tariff reductions and rules of origin, but I will be absolutely clear that firms locating in our freeports are free to take advantage of whichever is better for their company: a given free trade agreement or the additional reductions from being in that freeport.

Topical Questions

Christian Wakeford (Bury South) (Con) [V]
Mr Speaker, I am delighted to be joining you from the 7th global forum for combating antisemitism here in Israel With that in mind, as a newly independent sovereign trading nation, we have a number of trading opportunitieseb;normal;j ahead of us, including with countries such as Israel with which we already have a £5 billion continuity trade relationship. Can my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State confirm what progress has been made on an advanced high-tech free trade agreement with Israel and what help can she offer the likes of the Northern Health Science Alliance in conjunction with Israel

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Trade (Mr Ranil Jayawardena)
The Secretary of State had a successful visit to Israel herself in the last week of June, and she had productive discussions with her Israeli counterpart, focused on ambitions for upgrading our current trade relationship. As my hon. Friend suggests, I am very keen personally to strengthen our £5 billion trade relationship even further, and I look forward to taking these discussions forward to create further opportunities for British businesses in tech and beyond.

Written Statement

UK Carrier Strike Group: Phase 1 Update

The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Ben Wallace)
On 23 May the UK Carrier Strike Group (CSG21) set sail on her maiden operational deployment and has now completed the first phase. The strike group’s route has taken them through the eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and in the final weeks of June, they were operating in the Black sea and delivering combat missions from the eastern Mediterranean concurrently.

During the first phase CSG21 has undertaken an impressive array of exercises working with NATO allies and key international partners. Exercise Steadfast Defender was the principal NATO exercise during this period, but we also participated in dual-carrier operations with our French allies, with HMS Queen Elizabeth sailing in company with the FS Charles de Gaulle.

The carrier air wing has undertaken a range of air exercises including Atlantic Trident and Gallic Strike with the US and France; Falcon Strike with Italy, the US and Israel and Tri-Lightning with the US and Israel

This was also a period of concentrated operational activity and development of the carrier strike capability. We provided support to ongoing NATO operations in the Black sea and NATO’s maritime security operation—Sea Guardian—in the Mediterranean. For around two weeks, CSG21 provided support to Operation Shader, the UK contribution to the coalition effort to defeat Daesh in Iraq and Syria. While in the Black Sea and eastern Mediterranean we had to deal with persistent and often irresponsible harassment by Russian forces. This unfortunate continuation of Russian aggression was dealt with exceptionally by our forces, demonstrating not only the capabilities of the CSG, but also the professionalism and restraint of our service personnel.

Ships from the strike group have conducted port visits to Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Georgia, Israel Italy, Montenegro, Romania, Spain, Turkey and Ukraine. The programmes and ministerial attendance around those visits helped enhance security, diplomatic and trade relationships that will make the world safer, and will protect and promote prosperity and the rule of law.

We extend our enormous thanks and our great respect to all those nations and armed forces with whom we have engaged and worked alongside. This deployment is the integrated review in action and demonstrates the friendships and alliances that we have in place across the globe. Together with our allies we are developing a joint capability that is cutting-edge.

Phase 2 of the of the deployment, began on 7 July, and will involve transiting the Suez canal into the Red sea ahead of the group crossing the Indian Ocean and on to the Indo-Pacific.

Whilst operating in the eastern Mediterranean HMS Diamond experienced some technical issues and has detached from the task group for maintenance, inspection and defect rectification. She is expected to rejoin the task group during the Indo-Pacific phase of the deployment.

During phase 1, as part of routine testing, covid-19 cases were detected on four vessels within the strike group. All deployed personnel on CSG21 are fully vaccinated and tested regularly and appropriate protocols were put in place to isolate the cases where possible.

All personnel who are symptomatic are experiencing mild symptoms only and to date there has not been a single covid-19 admission to sickbay. The strike group is currently at sea, has only contactless activity planned for the coming weeks, and will have had at least two weeks at sea before its next planned visits. We take nothing for granted in that regard and are working closely with partners to understand how we can balance engagement and interaction with safety for all concerned.

It is also with deep regret that the Ministry of Defence can confirm that a Royal Navy sailor from HMS Kent died on 10 July 2021. The individual’s next of kin have been informed and have requested privacy at this difficult time. The Ministry of Defence offers its profound condolences to the individual’s family and friends. The ship’s company of HMS Kent are in our thoughts during this difficult time.