PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Service Industries: Trade Agreements (11 July 2017)

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the Prime Minister’s statement of 10 July 2017, Official Report, column 26, on the G20 summit, what rule changes he has requested from the WTO relating to the (a) services and (b) digital sector.

Asked by:
Darren Jones (Labour)

As the Prime Minister and Department for International Trade ministers have set out, the UK is a founding member and active participant in the ongoing work of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). This includes an active involvement in services and the digital sector, where we continue to advocate for services trade liberalisation and are encouraging members to restart negotiations on the ambitious Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA).

On the digital economy, we are working with other WTO Member States to achieve a positive outcome at the Ministerial Conference in December 2017. This includes working with developing and least developed countries as a core supporter of UNCTAD’s ‘eTrade for All’ initiative which seeks to improve the ability of developing countries to benefit from e-commerce.

Answered by:
Mark Garnier (Conservative)
19 July 2017