PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
Trade with Commonwealth Countries - 7 March 2024 (Commons/Commons Chamber)

The United Kingdom has trade deals with 33 Commonwealth countries, and our new developing countries trading scheme offers more generous tariffs, rules of origin and trading conditions to developing countries, including 19 Commonwealth countries. The UK-Australia FTA has seen sharp rises in many UK export sectors, including furniture tripling year on year and car exports doubling. Meanwhile, of the 11 parties to the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership, six are Commonwealth countries, and that agreement gives us new or improved access to those important markets.

Mr Speaker, I know that you will be celebrating Commonwealth day on Monday with the raising of the Commonwealth flag. Will the Minister take this opportunity to expand our trading relations with the Commonwealth and look at the idea of an opt-in, opt-out WTO-style organisation involving all Commonwealth countries? Surely this is a great opportunity to expand our trade with some of the world’s emerging economic powerhouses.

I thank my hon. Friend for that question and his commitment to the Commonwealth. As a constituency MP with a huge Commonwealth diaspora in Chelsea and Fulham, I totally understand his sympathies and look forward to celebrating Commonwealth day with him and others next week. He knows that the Commonwealth does not make trade rules, nor is it a trade agreement body like the Gulf Co-operation Council, the European Free Trade Association or the CPTPP. We think that the better course at present is to ratify our CPTPP membership and continue to have reduced tariffs under our developing countries trading scheme. However, we are always open to new ideas at the Department for Business and Trade and I am happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss this further.

I thank the Minister very much for a positive response. The Commonwealth is important for all of us. The value of UK exports to the Commonwealth increased by 23% in cash terms between 2021 and 2022, while the value of imports from the Commonwealth increased by some 30%. We can clearly benefit each other. How can we ensure that Northern Ireland companies benefit fully from this enhanced trading partnership?

Of course, Northern Ireland benefits from all our free trade agreements. I very much look forward to putting the case for Northern Irish goods and services in the months ahead. We have economic partnership agreements with 27 Commonwealth countries. We also have the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in October to look forward to, where we can ensure that the export of Northern Irish goods and services, as well as those from the whole of the UK, takes centre stage.