Liam Fox: This Government is committed to establishing the new UK Trade Remedies Authority (TRA), which will be responsible for providing a safety net to domestic industries after the UK has left the EU. We have made significant progress so far. The Taxation (Cross-Border Trade) Act 2018, which sets out the trade remedies framework that the TRA will be responsible for delivering, received Royal Assent...
Liam Fox: I am pleased to announce to the House that following the circulation of our Goods Schedule at the World Trade Organization in Geneva, the period for certification has ended. As expected, some trading partners have expressed reservations about our proposed treatment of Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs). I am therefore announcing today that the UK intends to enter negotiations with relevant partners...
Liam Fox: The Prime Minister has approved two new appointments to the Trade Envoy programme. Pauline Latham MP has been appointed as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Kenya and Andrew Rosindell MP as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Tanzania. These new appointments take the total number to 33 parliamentarians covering 63 markets. The Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy programme is an...
Liam Fox: The Board of Trade champions exports, as well as inward and outward investment to deliver economic growth and prosperity across the whole of the UK. The Board has met four times, has launched two successful programmes: the BOFTAs and the National Trade Academy Programme - celebrating innovative British exporters and encouraging young people to pursue careers in international trade.
Liam Fox: At the G20 Trade Ministers Meeting I will voice our continued support for the multilateral trading system and call on all G20 countries to be WTO compliant. I will make the case against protectionism, emphasise that disputes should not be resolved through unilateral action, but through the multilateral route. I will also be discussing the New Industrial Revolution and will champion the...
Liam Fox: In July 2017 I launched the UK/US Trade and Investment Working Group which has since met on four occasions. As well as looking at delivering continuity for British business post-EU exit, this group is laying the groundwork for an ambitious UK/US free Trade Agreement.
Liam Fox: The UK and Israel have an important trading relationship in information and agricultural technology, which we are strengthening through our dedicated trade promotion team at our embassy in Tel Aviv. We have established a UK-Israel tech hub, which helps to create partnerships between British companies and innovative Israeli technology businesses. This is part of our confident, outward-looking...
Liam Fox: My hon. Friend is right. Our trade with Israel currently stands at £3.9 billion in goods and services, with our exports up 7% in the past year. The Prime Minister met the Israeli Prime Minister in February 2017 to set up the joint trade working group, and I would like to thank the Israeli Government for their close liaison. We are dedicated to the continuity of trade and, once we leave...
Liam Fox: Thank you, Mr Speaker; I was wondering whether there was going to be even a tentative link to the question. The tech hub is there to help British businesses to get access to the innovations that come out of Israel across a range of sectors. It is worth pointing out that Israel is an extraordinarily innovative country and has more start-ups per capita than any other country on the planet....
Liam Fox: As I have already said, the key to that is the UK-Israel tech hub. This relates not only to the area of computers, which my hon. Friend has mentioned, but to FinTech, cyber-security, biomed, retail technology and the creative industries. These are all prime areas for co-operation between the United Kingdom and Israel, and we should celebrate that relationship and the benefits that it brings...
Liam Fox: Our trade relationship with Israel is clearly set out in the agreement that the European Union has with Israel, and that is the agreement that we will roll over as we leave the EU. We will want to have a further ambitious trading agreement. We believe that the extension of trade in Israel and in the wider region contributes to not only the prosperity but the political stability and security...
Liam Fox: I would like to thank my noble Friend Baroness Fairhead for all her hard work in driving forward the launch of the Government’s export strategy, in her role as Minister for Trade and Export Promotion. We launched the Government’s export strategy on 21 August. The strategy has four pillars—encourage, inform, connect and finance. Our ambition is simple: it is for the UK to be...
Liam Fox: My hon. Friend, who is a very strong advocate for those sectors, makes a good point. They are strong export sectors for the UK, and the Government’s export strategy will build on their success, further encouraging and assisting companies to export. We will do so by providing more information and connections to overseas markets, supporting companies at overseas events and providing...
Liam Fox: My hon. Friend, as usual, makes a telling point. I congratulate businesses up and down the country who export their goods and services overseas, but our survey suggests that some 20% of companies could be exporting at the present time but do not. That is around 400,000 companies whose export potential is not being fully realised. My message to those who could export but do not is to look at...
Liam Fox: What the Government are doing is to try to ensure that we get a good deal with the European Union—a free, open, comprehensive trade deal that enables our businesses to continue to trade with the substantial market that is the European Union.
Liam Fox: That is a very useful point. Members of the House who have used the export hub and had the export hub visit their constituency have seen the benefits of the very practical help that can be given to small businesses. We have been encouraging UK Export Finance to help more small and medium-sized enterprises trade. We have put UK Export Finance experts in the field, so that they may better...
Liam Fox: We already have a footprint, but it is very clear, emphasising the point that my hon. Friend correctly makes, that it is a reserved matter, so it is the duty of the Government to ensure that all UK citizens, in whatever part of the kingdom they reside, have the same access to help when it comes to trade; and that is what the Department for International Trade provides.
Liam Fox: We spend a great deal of time doing so, and in fact I was deeply encouraged by the welcome that we received for the export strategy from the FSB, the chambers, the Institute of Directors and the Confederation of British Industry, who do not share the Labour party’s anti-trade, anti-capitalist, anti-wealth agenda. The Labour party increasingly seems to see the model it prefers for...
Liam Fox: We are preparing ourselves to be able to take a decision on potential CPTPP accession in the light of the ongoing public consultation and the process of accession for new members being established. We are also undertaking further work to understand the opportunities that CPTPP presents, including by engaging with existing members.
Liam Fox: The CPTPP states currently account for more than 13% of global GDP—they comprise a combined GDP of around $11 trillion. Their economies are projected to grow to more than $14 trillion by 2023. It is self-evident that if Britain is able to take advantage of growing markets, a country that has a much more ambitious export strategy can benefit hugely. Malaysia will be able to take...