Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 18 July 2019, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 1 August 2019. It was answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Conservative) on Tuesday, 27 August 2019 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

St Helena: Trade

Question

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of leaving the EU with (1) no-deal, and (2) an agreed deal, on the tariffs levied and price competitiveness of products produced in St Helena.

Answer

The British Government has worked very closely with all the British Overseas Territories (OTs) to surface their concerns and interests in relation to EU Exit since the referendum. Given Saint Helena's association with the EU through the 2013 Overseas Association Decision (OAD), it currently benefits from non-reciprocal tariff-free quota-free access to the EU's goods market. In a no-deal scenario, Saint Helena may lose this preferential access.

We continue to support all the territories so that their businesses are prepared to trade with the EU, if necessary, as a non-EU associated territory. The UK Government has also made provisions in the Cross Border Taxation Act for all EU associated territories to retain tariff and quota-free access to the UK market.

We are committed to negotiating a good deal for the Overseas Territories as part of our negotiations with the EU on the future partnership.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL17301
Session
2017-19
Subjects
Import duties Trade St Helena Trade competitiveness Brexit
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk