Written question asked by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative) on Tuesday, 30 November 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 2 December 2010. It was answered by Mark Prisk (Conservative) on Tuesday, 7 December 2010 on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

EU External Trade: Colombia and Peru

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what timetable he has set for the ratification by Parliament of the provisions of the EU-Andean (Peru and Colombia) Free Trade Agreement.

Answer: We expect signature of the EU-Andean Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 2011, before which the FTA would be subject to UK parliamentary scrutiny procedures. European Council legal advisers will determine whether the agreement is mixed competence, in which case it will need to be ratified by national parliaments. If, as expected, the FTA is mixed competence, we expect the UK ratification process to begin following signature later in 2011 or 2012. It would take several months to complete the secondary legislation required to ratify the FTA.

Secondary information