argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
University of Essex — House of Commons, 2017-11-02
Topic: Education
Giles Francis Watling (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my hon. Friend agree that as well as having an excellent chancellor, the University of Essex is a great centre for the local community it serves, not just the global community? This summer I was fortunate enough to give out graduation certificates to hundreds of students who attended during the summer break. Does my hon. Friend agree that the university serves a useful purpose in that regard?
University of Essex — House of Commons, 2017-11-02
Topic: Education
John Simon Bercow (Conservative, Centre-right): The expressions of commendation and support that have flowed over the last 25 minutes for the University of Essex will be deeply appreciated by everyone at the university and, for that matter, by the occupant of the Chair. I can also safely say without fear of contradiction that the university has earned every word of that commendation and support. Colleagues, thank you Question put and agreed to.
Leaving the EU: New Trade Agreements — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Liam Fox (Conservative, Centre-right): Before I begin, I would like to offer my sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Simon Speirs, who tragically lost his life while on board the Great Britain yacht during the Clipper round the world race last weekend. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this very sad time The Department for International Trade is building a world-class trade policy and negotiation capability for the long-term future of our country. Since July 2016, our trade policy group has grown significantly, from 45 to more than 400 today, and it is continuing to grow. We have also established a series of working groups and high-level dialogues with key trade partners to explore the best ways of progressing our trade and investment relationships. Those partners include the United States, Australia, Mexico and Japan.
Leaving the EU: New Trade Agreements — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Martin John Vickers (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for his reply. The business community in my constituency is eagerly looking forward to the opportunities the new trade agreements will bring. Will he clarify which elements of the Trade Bill refer to the free trade agreements?
Leaving the EU: New Trade Agreements — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Liam Fox (Conservative, Centre-right): The Trade Bill is about maintaining the effects of our current trading arrangements to ensure continuity for businesses, workers and consumers as we leave the European Union. That means the powers in the Trade Bill will be used only to transition our existing trade agreements that the EU has already signed prior to exit. Work is ongoing to establish how we will deal with future free trade agreements, but I am afraid that to claim that the current Bill allows Ministers a free hand to write future FTAs is simply untrue.
Leaving the EU: New Trade Agreements — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Robert Edward Jenrick (Conservative, Centre-right): Businesses and constituents in Newark believe it is essential that the existing EU FTAs are transferred and rolled over as expeditiously as possible, but we should not confuse that with signing new FTAs. Will the Secretary of State therefore confirm that there will be an entirely separate consultation with the public and with Parliament on how we handle those separate new FTAs?
Leaving the EU: New Trade Agreements — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Liam Fox (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, there will be. The trade White Paper, which is of course very separate from the Trade Bill, asked for views on what a future engagement and scrutiny framework should look like on trade. We are considering the responses and we will engage in the coming months. Given the changes we see, with Pascal Lamy describing a move away from the protection of producers to consumer precaution, we will have to take the views of consumers far more into account in future trade agreements than we have in the past.
Leaving the EU: New Trade Agreements — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: International Affairs
Liam Fox (Conservative, Centre-right): We will want to see what the best deals we can get for the UK are, how we can get our trading volumes and value up, and what opportunities we can take as we leave the EU. Of course we are pleased to continue to go along with the British public’s view on the referendum, and the hon. Gentleman will no doubt want to do the same, as his constituency voted overwhelmingly to leave—that is no doubt a view he will endorse.
Leaving the EU: New Trade Agreements — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Liam Fox (Conservative, Centre-right): We will want to ensure that those are replicated in United Kingdom law on the day we leave the EU because, whether there is an agreement or not, we will have to have a legal basis for trading with those countries.
Leaving the EU: New Trade Agreements — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Robert John Blackman (Conservative, Centre-right): Will my right hon. Friend confirm the position on trade agreements when we leave the EU: after April 2019, we will be negotiating such trade deals and look forward to actually signing them when we break free from the shackles of the EU?
Leaving the EU: New Trade Agreements — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Liam Fox (Conservative, Centre-right): Again, to make it clear, before we leave the European Union we have to be able to transition the existing EU free trade agreements to give ourselves the legal basis to trade. Of course, up to that point and beyond, we will want to see what new opportunities are available. If, during an implementation period, we decide that we are not going to introduce and put into effect new trade agreements, we will still want to negotiate and sign them.
Leaving the EU: New Trade Agreements — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): Do the Secretary of State’s officials trudge into work, full of doom and gloom-laden, thinking it is all going to be too difficult, or do they bounce into his office, full of energy and enthusiasm, seeing Brexit as a wonderful opportunity for Britain to be at the forefront of leading the world into the bright sunlit uplands of freer trade?
Leaving the EU: New Trade Agreements — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Government Operations
Liam Fox (Conservative, Centre-right): Not all that many people bounce into my office, although they regularly bounce out of it. We are an incredibly optimistic Department and we look to the future with great confidence. Let me give some figures: the most recent time we advertised jobs in the Department, there were 1,698 applicants for the 92 jobs available. That suggests to me that there is a great deal of optimism, even in our civil service.
Leaving the EU: New Trade Agreements — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Liam Fox (Conservative, Centre-right): It is nice to see that "Project Fear" never dies. Rather than going on projections, let me tell the hon. Gentleman what our economy has actually done. He is right that global trade has been growing at around 3%, but UK exports have been up 13.1% in the past year—in goods they are up by more than 16%. That is the real performance of the UK economy. There is incredible slack in our ability to export further and we should be encouraging British exporters to do so.
Exports: South-west — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Liam Fox (Conservative, Centre-right): I am glad my hon. Friend asks about our export promotion capability. In 2016, exports of goods from the region, which includes my own constituency, grew by 10.6% compared with 2015, with double-digit growth for markets such as Singapore and South Korea. DIT stands ready to support these businesses, including through the global growth pilot, which offers deeper export support, or through a targeted export programme alongside Torbay Development Agency.
Exports: South-west — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Kevin John Foster (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for his answer, not least because he is a fellow south-west MP. Gooch & Housego’s Torquay factory recently won national recognition for how its staff and management have worked together to grow their business. What support does my right hon. Friend intend to give to that and other companies in Torbay’s vital photonics sector so that they can grow further by increasing their exports?
Exports: South-west — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Liam Fox (Conservative, Centre-right): Photonics is about the science of light generation and manipulation, Mr Speaker—of course, you and all other Members already knew that. DIT’s local international trade adviser engages with businesses in the photonics sector and with the Torbay Development Agency, and will soon address the Torbay manufacturing forum. DIT specialists will meet the Torbay Development Agency in January to review the marketing proposition for the sector, and a DIT sector specialist will visit Japan to promote UK photonics capability.
Exports: South-west — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Agriculture
Rebecca Faye Clark (Pow) (Conservative, Centre-right): The south-west traditionally grows very fine livestock and has a buoyant export market. Will the Secretary of State give me and the farmers of Taunton Deane some assurance that if export certification demands increase as we leave the EU, the Government will give the right support to the agricultural industry, and will they look into the development of electronic systems to help the certification process?
Exports: South-west — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Agriculture
Liam Fox (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes. The Government are committed to ensuring as smooth as possible an exit from the EU, including for all our business sectors, which obviously covers agriculture. Beyond that, the Department is particularly focused on finding new markets for our agricultural sector. There is substantial growth in demand for agricultural products in countries such as China and India. Given that the UK’s are the finest in the world, we should be at the forefront of those export markets.
Economic Partnership Agreements — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: What assessment he has made of the potential merits of revising the basis of economic partnership agreements better to incorporate the aims of the UN sustainable development goals.
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): We are guided by a desire to seek continuity first of all in our trading relationships with developing countries as we leave the European Union, and that includes economic partnership agreements. Our EPA partner countries have already welcomed that commitment. The UK is of course fully committed to promoting and delivering the sustainable development goals and is the first and only G7 country to spend 0.7% of national income on overseas development assistance.
Economic Partnership Agreements — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Questions: What assessment he has made of the potential merits of revising the basis of economic partnership agreements better to incorporate the aims of the UN sustainable development goals.
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): We have already announced that we will be transitioning the full preference scheme of the European Union, including all the categories; that includes GSP and GSP plus. I am surprised if the hon. Gentleman is opposed to our transitioning the EPAs because, as you well know, Mr Speaker, UK imports worth around £290 million from the developing world were imported last year using the EPAs, and they would otherwise have had to pay a higher tariff to enter the UK.
Economic Partnership Agreements — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Questions: What assessment he has made of the potential merits of revising the basis of economic partnership agreements better to incorporate the aims of the UN sustainable development goals.
James Philip Duddridge (Conservative, Centre-right): Although the EPAs in Africa are working in the south, they are working less well in the east and west. Is the Minister working with his colleagues in the Department for International Development to look at inter-African trade, rather than trade with what is a declining market sector—Europe—compared with the rest of the world?
Economic Partnership Agreements — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: What assessment he has made of the potential merits of revising the basis of economic partnership agreements better to incorporate the aims of the UN sustainable development goals.
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): We have had very successful talks. The Secretary of State was in South Africa just a couple of months ago and in Ethiopia recently. We are engaging very closely with Africa and with DFID Ministers, including the Minister for Africa, my hon. Friend the Member for Penrith and The Border (Rory Stewart). In a joint statement, we have agreed to seek to transition the Southern African Development Community’s EPA and, last week, we signed an agreement to seek to transition the Caribbean Forum’s EPA as well.
Economic Partnership Agreements — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: What assessment he has made of the potential merits of revising the basis of economic partnership agreements better to incorporate the aims of the UN sustainable development goals.; Economic partnership agreements have faced intense criticism both from the very countries that they are intended to help and from experts and academics across Europe. Will the Minister consider introducing a sunset clause into the rolled-over EPAs so that new and better agreements can eventually be negotiated?
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): These are agreements that are being transitioned. The purpose here is to take an agreement that is already in place and to make sure that it continues to be in place after we leave the European Union. Of course we are in constant dialogue with our developing world partners, and we are open to improving those preferential arrangements in the future if that is deemed to be in the interests of the developing countries.
Economic Partnership Agreements — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: What assessment he has made of the potential merits of revising the basis of economic partnership agreements better to incorporate the aims of the UN sustainable development goals.; Economic partnership agreements have faced intense criticism both from the very countries that they are intended to help and from experts and academics across Europe. Will the Minister consider introducing a sunset clause into the rolled-over EPAs so that new and better agreements can eventually be negotiated?
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): Of course the UK remains absolutely committed to universal human rights. We have a strong track record of supporting human rights across the world. Safeguarding, promoting and defending human rights is an integral part of government and human rights and prosperity of course are mutually supportive. As part of transitioning EU arrangements, we will be maintaining a similar approach to human rights commitments in UK trade policy.
Ministerial Discussions — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Mark Robert Timothy Garnier (Conservative, Centre-right): The Department for International Trade has overall responsibility for both inward direct investment into the UK from abroad and outward direct investment from the UK to markets overseas. Officials in my Department and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have numerous discussions on how we can support our businesses. DIT is currently undertaking an export strategy to better understand the needs of businesses seeking to export, as well as identifying those opportunities via the GREAT.gov.uk website.
Ministerial Discussions — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Macroeconomics
Mark Robert Timothy Garnier (Conservative, Centre-right): I believe that a north Wales growth deal was announced in the Budget. It is also important to remember that the industrial strategy will be announced next week. That will talk about exactly how we can improve the infrastructure to support the great businesses in north Wales that the hon. Gentleman represents very well.
Ministerial Discussions — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Paul Masterton (Conservative, Centre-right): Thank you, Mr Speaker, and apologies With whisky exports worth £4 billion a year, has the Minister discussed with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy how we can capitalise on the export success story of Scottish whisky?
Ministerial Discussions — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Mark Robert Timothy Garnier (Conservative, Centre-right): Scottish whisky is one of our greatest export success stories, and my hon. Friend is right to say that it is worth £4 billion a year. It is this Department that leads, in every sense, on promoting exports of food and drink across the world. With the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, we look, in terms of agricultural exports, at where we have market access and at standards. We have to agree that separately.
Ethiopia: Human Rights — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: International Affairs
Liam Fox (Conservative, Centre-right): The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is responsible for policy on human rights across the whole of Government. The UK has a strong history of protecting human rights and promoting our values globally. We will continue to encourage all states to uphold international human rights obligations, including when we meet them both in the UK and on overseas visits.
Ethiopia: Human Rights — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: International Affairs
Liam Fox (Conservative, Centre-right): In my official meeting with the Ethiopian Prime Minister, we discussed the need for long-term political and economic stability, as well as the political space. We did, indeed, raise the consular case mentioned by the right hon. Gentleman in private and with our ambassador. I hope that we will see the results of that interaction soon.
Ethiopia: Human Rights — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: International Affairs
Jeremy John Elton Lefroy (Conservative, Centre-right): I declare an interest as the Prime Minister’s trade envoy to Ethiopia. Does the Secretary of State agree that the work of Her Majesty’s ambassador in Addis Ababa is really tremendous—she has arranged for visits and has personally visited Andy Tsege—but that the situation needs to come to an end? At the same time, will he acknowledge the work that the Ethiopian Government are doing with the Department for International Development to try to get more than 1 million refugees throughout the country into work in a jobs compact?
Trade Remedies Authority — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Questions: What the remit of the trade remedies authority will be; and how it will undertake to balance consumer and producer interests within that remit.
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): We are taking the necessary steps to operate our own trade remedies system. That will investigate and take action against unfair trading practices that injure UK industry. The new, independent trade remedies authority will operate the system and make recommendations to address injury found by its investigations. In doing so, it will consider the interests of all parties, such as user industries, producers and consumers, as well as regional and long-term impacts.
Trade Remedies Authority — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Questions: What the remit of the trade remedies authority will be; and how it will undertake to balance consumer and producer interests within that remit.
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman mentions the European Parliament. Perhaps he might have a word with his own colleagues, who have sought in the recent vote in the European Parliament to frustrate the process of us even talking about trade with the European Union to start with. The purpose of trade remedies measures is to address injury caused to domestic industry. The lesser duty rule provides adequate protection to achieve the same so that industry can operate on a fair playing field and without imposing unnecessary costs on downstream industry and consumers.
Trade Remedies Authority — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Questions: What the remit of the trade remedies authority will be; and how it will undertake to balance consumer and producer interests within that remit.
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): We have taken robust action on steel in concert with the European Union, and we are playing an active role within that. The Government of course recognise that overcapacity is a significant global issue, which is why we have been working proactively through the EU and our G20 partners. The hon. Gentleman seeks to downplay the interests of consumers in all of this, but they will be absolutely vital and at the heart of our trade remedies process—exactly where they deserve to be.
UK Export Finance — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Mark Robert Timothy Garnier (Conservative, Centre-right): We are putting export finance at the heart of trade promotion by enhancing the financial support available to exporters and smaller companies in their supply chains. This is a new guarantee to banks designed to increase liquidity in the supply chain, improving exporters’ access to capital and enabling their suppliers to fulfil new orders. As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor stated yesterday, UK Export Finance will launch a targeted campaign to promote the support they offer to exporters and overseas buyers, as part of the wider GREAT campaign.
UK Export Finance — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Mark Robert Timothy Garnier (Conservative, Centre-right): In the few short months my hon. Friend has been a Member, he has proved a doughty campaigner for the whisky industry and the agricultural industry in his patch, and I would be delighted to come along and visit him. I would point out that the Board of Trade has been established across the whole country to promote the interests of regions. We have regional international trade advisers, and they work through the Scottish Government, fully supported by the Department for International Trade.
UK Export Finance — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Anne-Marie Belinda Trevelyan (Conservative, Centre-right): Berwick-upon-Tweed, Alnwick and Amble now have innovative high-tech software businesses designing unique products that have serious global market potential. Can the Minister confirm that these businesses will be able to access UK export finance to reach into new countries, boost British exports and bring new high-tech jobs into my constituency? He is, of course, welcome to stop off on his way to Scotland.
UK Export Finance — House of Commons, 2017-11-23
Topic: Foreign Trade
Mark Robert Timothy Garnier (Conservative, Centre-right): I would love to go to Berwick-upon-Tweed, and I cannot wait to go. It is absolutely right that UK Export Finance has introduced a number of measures, including passing delegated powers to the high street banks to offer up to £2 million of export credit. It is important that we recognise that this resource is vital to financing exports. My hon. Friend will know from the recent briefing session we held for Members of Parliament that we are keen to engage with all Members of Parliament to see how UK Export Finance can help their constituents.