Written questions by Baldwin.

How many staff in his Department are working on trade with the Netherlands; and how many he plans to have working on trade with that country in each of the next five years.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is reshaping its overseas footprint to maximise UK economic growth in line with the Trade, Industrial and Small Business Strategies. Our future network will focus on priority markets and growth driving sectors across DBT objectives in trade policy, inward investment, tackling market access barriers, and supporting UK exporters.DBT staff overseas work flexibly across trade (trade policy, market access barriers and export promotion), inward investment, economic security and wider HMG objectives. As a result, we do not hold export promotion specific resources allocated separately by country or market. The total DBT overseas resource for the markets in questions will be roughly 470 FTE at the end of March 2026 reducing to a forecast roughly 420 FTE by March 2029. There are no forecasts beyond this point.We deploy our domestic trade resources flexibly, with delivery aligned to His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) geographic regions. As of January 2026, DBT has 1,396 FTE working on trade domestically (Trade Group and Economic Security and Trade Relations resource) reducing to 1,140 by March 2029.Planned headcount reductions in domestic staff over the Spending Review period will be managed through rigorous prioritisation; they do not translate into fixed, market-specific staffing levels.

How many staff in his Department are working on trade with Poland; and how many he plans to have working on trade with that country in each of the next five years.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is reshaping its overseas footprint to maximise UK economic growth in line with the Trade, Industrial and Small Business Strategies. Our future network will focus on priority markets and growth driving sectors across DBT objectives in trade policy, inward investment, tackling market access barriers, and supporting UK exporters.DBT staff overseas work flexibly across trade (trade policy, market access barriers and export promotion), inward investment, economic security and wider HMG objectives. As a result, we do not hold export promotion specific resources allocated separately by country or market. The total DBT overseas resource for the markets in questions will be roughly 470 FTE at the end of March 2026 reducing to a forecast roughly 420 FTE by March 2029. There are no forecasts beyond this point.We deploy our domestic trade resources flexibly, with delivery aligned to His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) geographic regions. As of January 2026, DBT has 1,396 FTE working on trade domestically (Trade Group and Economic Security and Trade Relations resource) reducing to 1,140 by March 2029.Planned headcount reductions in domestic staff over the Spending Review period will be managed through rigorous prioritisation; they do not translate into fixed, market-specific staffing levels.

How many staff in his Department are working on trade with Spain; and how many he plans to have working on trade with that country in each of the next five years.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is reshaping its overseas footprint to maximise UK economic growth in line with the Trade, Industrial and Small Business Strategies. Our future network will focus on priority markets and growth driving sectors across DBT objectives in trade policy, inward investment, tackling market access barriers, and supporting UK exporters.DBT staff overseas work flexibly across trade (trade policy, market access barriers and export promotion), inward investment, economic security and wider HMG objectives. As a result, we do not hold export promotion specific resources allocated separately by country or market. The total DBT overseas resource for the markets in questions will be roughly 470 FTE at the end of March 2026 reducing to a forecast roughly 420 FTE by March 2029. There are no forecasts beyond this point.We deploy our domestic trade resources flexibly, with delivery aligned to His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) geographic regions. As of January 2026, DBT has 1,396 FTE working on trade domestically (Trade Group and Economic Security and Trade Relations resource) reducing to 1,140 by March 2029.Planned headcount reductions in domestic staff over the Spending Review period will be managed through rigorous prioritisation; they do not translate into fixed, market-specific staffing levels.

How many staff in his Department are working on trade with Mexico; and how many he plans to have working on trade with that country in each of the next five years.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is reshaping its overseas footprint to maximise UK economic growth in line with the Trade, Industrial and Small Business Strategies. Our future network will focus on priority markets and growth driving sectors across DBT objectives in trade policy, inward investment, tackling market access barriers, and supporting UK exporters.DBT staff overseas work flexibly across trade (trade policy, market access barriers and export promotion), inward investment, economic security and wider HMG objectives. As a result, we do not hold export promotion specific resources allocated separately by country or market. The total DBT overseas resource for the markets in questions will be roughly 470 FTE at the end of March 2026 reducing to a forecast roughly 420 FTE by March 2029. There are no forecasts beyond this point.We deploy our domestic trade resources flexibly, with delivery aligned to His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) geographic regions. As of January 2026, DBT has 1,396 FTE working on trade domestically (Trade Group and Economic Security and Trade Relations resource) reducing to 1,140 by March 2029.Planned headcount reductions in domestic staff over the Spending Review period will be managed through rigorous prioritisation; they do not translate into fixed, market-specific staffing levels.

How many staff in his Department are working on trade with Sweden; and how many he plans to have working on trade with that country in each of the next five years.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is reshaping its overseas footprint to maximise UK economic growth in line with the Trade, Industrial and Small Business Strategies. Our future network will focus on priority markets and growth driving sectors across DBT objectives in trade policy, inward investment, tackling market access barriers, and supporting UK exporters.DBT staff overseas work flexibly across trade (trade policy, market access barriers and export promotion), inward investment, economic security and wider HMG objectives. As a result, we do not hold export promotion specific resources allocated separately by country or market. The total DBT overseas resource for the markets in questions will be roughly 470 FTE at the end of March 2026 reducing to a forecast roughly 420 FTE by March 2029. There are no forecasts beyond this point.We deploy our domestic trade resources flexibly, with delivery aligned to His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) geographic regions. As of January 2026, DBT has 1,396 FTE working on trade domestically (Trade Group and Economic Security and Trade Relations resource) reducing to 1,140 by March 2029.Planned headcount reductions in domestic staff over the Spending Review period will be managed through rigorous prioritisation; they do not translate into fixed, market-specific staffing levels.

How many staff in his Department are working on trade with Japan; and how many he plans to have working on trade with that country in each of the next five years.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is reshaping its overseas footprint to maximise UK economic growth in line with the Trade, Industrial and Small Business Strategies. Our future network will focus on priority markets and growth driving sectors across DBT objectives in trade policy, inward investment, tackling market access barriers, and supporting UK exporters.DBT staff overseas work flexibly across trade (trade policy, market access barriers and export promotion), inward investment, economic security and wider HMG objectives. As a result, we do not hold export promotion specific resources allocated separately by country or market. The total DBT overseas resource for the markets in questions will be roughly 470 FTE at the end of March 2026 reducing to a forecast roughly 420 FTE by March 2029. There are no forecasts beyond this point.We deploy our domestic trade resources flexibly, with delivery aligned to His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) geographic regions. As of January 2026, DBT has 1,396 FTE working on trade domestically (Trade Group and Economic Security and Trade Relations resource) reducing to 1,140 by March 2029.Planned headcount reductions in domestic staff over the Spending Review period will be managed through rigorous prioritisation; they do not translate into fixed, market-specific staffing levels.

How many staff in his Department are working on trade with Peru; and how many he plans to have working on trade with that country in each of the next five years.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is reshaping its overseas footprint to maximise UK economic growth in line with the Trade, Industrial and Small Business Strategies. Our future network will focus on priority markets and growth driving sectors across DBT objectives in trade policy, inward investment, tackling market access barriers, and supporting UK exporters.DBT staff overseas work flexibly across trade (trade policy, market access barriers and export promotion), inward investment, economic security and wider HMG objectives. As a result, we do not hold export promotion specific resources allocated separately by country or market. The total DBT overseas resource for the markets in questions will be roughly 470 FTE at the end of March 2026 reducing to a forecast roughly 420 FTE by March 2029. There are no forecasts beyond this point.We deploy our domestic trade resources flexibly, with delivery aligned to His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) geographic regions. As of January 2026, DBT has 1,396 FTE working on trade domestically (Trade Group and Economic Security and Trade Relations resource) reducing to 1,140 by March 2029.Planned headcount reductions in domestic staff over the Spending Review period will be managed through rigorous prioritisation; they do not translate into fixed, market-specific staffing levels.

How many staff in his Department are working on trade with Germany; and how many he plans to have working on trade with that country in each of the next five years.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is reshaping its overseas footprint to maximise UK economic growth in line with the Trade, Industrial and Small Business Strategies. Our future network will focus on priority markets and growth driving sectors across DBT objectives in trade policy, inward investment, tackling market access barriers, and supporting UK exporters.DBT staff overseas work flexibly across trade (trade policy, market access barriers and export promotion), inward investment, economic security and wider HMG objectives. As a result, we do not hold export promotion specific resources allocated separately by country or market. The total DBT overseas resource for the markets in questions will be roughly 470 FTE at the end of March 2026 reducing to a forecast roughly 420 FTE by March 2029. There are no forecasts beyond this point.We deploy our domestic trade resources flexibly, with delivery aligned to His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) geographic regions. As of January 2026, DBT has 1,396 FTE working on trade domestically (Trade Group and Economic Security and Trade Relations resource) reducing to 1,140 by March 2029.Planned headcount reductions in domestic staff over the Spending Review period will be managed through rigorous prioritisation; they do not translate into fixed, market-specific staffing levels.

How many staff in his Department are working on trade with New Zealand; and how many he plans to have working on trade with that country in each of the next five years.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is reshaping its overseas footprint to maximise UK economic growth in line with the Trade, Industrial and Small Business Strategies. Our future network will focus on priority markets and growth driving sectors across DBT objectives in trade policy, inward investment, tackling market access barriers, and supporting UK exporters.DBT staff overseas work flexibly across trade (trade policy, market access barriers and export promotion), inward investment, economic security and wider HMG objectives. As a result, we do not hold export promotion specific resources allocated separately by country or market. The total DBT overseas resource for the markets in questions will be roughly 470 FTE at the end of March 2026 reducing to a forecast roughly 420 FTE by March 2029. There are no forecasts beyond this point.We deploy our domestic trade resources flexibly, with delivery aligned to His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) geographic regions. As of January 2026, DBT has 1,396 FTE working on trade domestically (Trade Group and Economic Security and Trade Relations resource) reducing to 1,140 by March 2029.Planned headcount reductions in domestic staff over the Spending Review period will be managed through rigorous prioritisation; they do not translate into fixed, market-specific staffing levels.

How many staff in his Department are working on trade with Italy; and how many he plans to have working on trade with that country in each of the next five years.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is reshaping its overseas footprint to maximise UK economic growth in line with the Trade, Industrial and Small Business Strategies. Our future network will focus on priority markets and growth driving sectors across DBT objectives in trade policy, inward investment, tackling market access barriers, and supporting UK exporters.DBT staff overseas work flexibly across trade (trade policy, market access barriers and export promotion), inward investment, economic security and wider HMG objectives. As a result, we do not hold export promotion specific resources allocated separately by country or market. The total DBT overseas resource for the markets in questions will be roughly 470 FTE at the end of March 2026 reducing to a forecast roughly 420 FTE by March 2029. There are no forecasts beyond this point.We deploy our domestic trade resources flexibly, with delivery aligned to His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) geographic regions. As of January 2026, DBT has 1,396 FTE working on trade domestically (Trade Group and Economic Security and Trade Relations resource) reducing to 1,140 by March 2029.Planned headcount reductions in domestic staff over the Spending Review period will be managed through rigorous prioritisation; they do not translate into fixed, market-specific staffing levels.

How many staff in his Department are working on trade with Canada; and how many he plans to have working on trade with that country in each of the next five years.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is reshaping its overseas footprint to maximise UK economic growth in line with the Trade, Industrial and Small Business Strategies. Our future network will focus on priority markets and growth driving sectors across DBT objectives in trade policy, inward investment, tackling market access barriers, and supporting UK exporters.DBT staff overseas work flexibly across trade (trade policy, market access barriers and export promotion), inward investment, economic security and wider HMG objectives. As a result, we do not hold export promotion specific resources allocated separately by country or market. The total DBT overseas resource for the markets in questions will be roughly 470 FTE at the end of March 2026 reducing to a forecast roughly 420 FTE by March 2029. There are no forecasts beyond this point.We deploy our domestic trade resources flexibly, with delivery aligned to His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) geographic regions. As of January 2026, DBT has 1,396 FTE working on trade domestically (Trade Group and Economic Security and Trade Relations resource) reducing to 1,140 by March 2029.Planned headcount reductions in domestic staff over the Spending Review period will be managed through rigorous prioritisation; they do not translate into fixed, market-specific staffing levels.

How many staff in his Department are working on trade with Australia; and how many he plans to have working on trade with that country in each of the next five years.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is reshaping its overseas footprint to maximise UK economic growth in line with the Trade, Industrial and Small Business Strategies. Our future network will focus on priority markets and growth driving sectors across DBT objectives in trade policy, inward investment, tackling market access barriers, and supporting UK exporters.DBT staff overseas work flexibly across trade (trade policy, market access barriers and export promotion), inward investment, economic security and wider HMG objectives. As a result, we do not hold export promotion specific resources allocated separately by country or market. The total DBT overseas resource for the markets in questions will be roughly 470 FTE at the end of March 2026 reducing to a forecast roughly 420 FTE by March 2029. There are no forecasts beyond this point.We deploy our domestic trade resources flexibly, with delivery aligned to His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) geographic regions. As of January 2026, DBT has 1,396 FTE working on trade domestically (Trade Group and Economic Security and Trade Relations resource) reducing to 1,140 by March 2029.Planned headcount reductions in domestic staff over the Spending Review period will be managed through rigorous prioritisation; they do not translate into fixed, market-specific staffing levels.

How many staff in his Department are working on trade with Brunei; and how many he plans to have working on trade with that country in each of the next five years.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is reshaping its overseas footprint to maximise UK economic growth in line with the Trade, Industrial and Small Business Strategies. Our future network will focus on priority markets and growth driving sectors across DBT objectives in trade policy, inward investment, tackling market access barriers, and supporting UK exporters.DBT staff overseas work flexibly across trade (trade policy, market access barriers and export promotion), inward investment, economic security and wider HMG objectives. As a result, we do not hold export promotion specific resources allocated separately by country or market. The total DBT overseas resource for the markets in questions will be roughly 470 FTE at the end of March 2026 reducing to a forecast roughly 420 FTE by March 2029. There are no forecasts beyond this point.We deploy our domestic trade resources flexibly, with delivery aligned to His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) geographic regions. As of January 2026, DBT has 1,396 FTE working on trade domestically (Trade Group and Economic Security and Trade Relations resource) reducing to 1,140 by March 2029.Planned headcount reductions in domestic staff over the Spending Review period will be managed through rigorous prioritisation; they do not translate into fixed, market-specific staffing levels.

On how many occasions have Ministers in his Department have met with representatives of Royal Mail since September 2025.

Ministers from the Department for Business and Trade have met three times with representatives from Royal Mail since September 2025. Earlier this month, I met Royal Mail’s CEO, Alistair Cochrane. The Secretary of State subsequently met Daniel Křetínský, the CEO of EP Group, which owns Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distribution Services (IDS). In November 2025, I met Mr Cochrane and Martin Seidenberg, the CEO of IDS.

When he plans to initiate the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRAG) process for the UK–India Free Trade Agreement by laying the treaty before Parliament.

The Government laid the treaty text of the UK-India Free Trade Agreement before Parliament on 21 January. The statutory period provided by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 will commence on 22 January. The Government is prioritising bringing the deal into force as quickly as possible. The agreement is expected to significantly accelerate trade between the UK and India – increasing bilateral trade by £25.5 billion every year in the long run. As soon as the agreement comes into force, import duties on UK exports are estimated to reduce by around £400 million, increasing to £900 million after 10 years.

With reference to the press release entitled Joint statement between the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Prime Minister of Canada, published on 15 June 2025, on what date (a) he and (b) the Prime Minister of Canada expect to receive the report from the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group.

In line with the commitment made between our Prime Ministers in June 2025, the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group met over the course of last year in order to identify ways in which the UK and Canada can deepen cooperation, tackle market access barriers and grow our bilateral trading relationship, which was worth £30bn in the 12 months to June 2025. The joint report for Prime Ministers itself is subject to ongoing discussions with the Government of Canada, and will be finalised in due course.

What steps his Department is taking to expand UK participation in global supply chains for semiconductors and critical minerals.

DBT is strengthening UK participation in global critical mineral supply chains by leveraging domestic processing and recycling capabilities, expanding international partnerships through trade agreements and financing tools, and mobilising investment to diversify sources and build resilience. As part of the Industrial Strategy’s Digital and Technologies sector plan, the Government is prioritising measures to enhance national security and strengthen semiconductor supply chain resilience, while positioning the UK as a trusted global partner. We work with international partners through initiatives such as the OECD Semiconductor Informal Exchange Network and the G7 Point of Contact Group on Semiconductors to develop shared approaches and solutions that improve global supply chain resilience.

What progress he has made on negotiations towards a UK–Gulf Cooperation Council Free Trade Agreement; and what issues remain outstanding.

Free Trade Agreement negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are at an advanced stage with a focus on getting a deal that supports economic growth and delivers real value to business. Through ministerial and official-led engagement, we have made significant progress across a wide range of chapters. Outcomes in areas such as goods, services, investment and sustainability remain under active negotiation, and we are working closely with our GCC counterparts to resolve outstanding issues.

What specific steps his Department is taking to tackle non-tariff barriers currently facing SMEs in the automotive sector that export to the United States.

We are committed to supporting UK businesses to trade internationally. In May, under the General Terms of the Economic Prosperity Deal, the UK secured a 10% tariff for automotives within quota, the first and only country to do so - saving hundreds of millions of pounds on UK exports annually and delivering on our Plan for Change.We are now continuing talks on a wider UK-US Economic Deal which will also look at addressing specific tariff and non-tariff barriers, and unlocking new commercial opportunities that benefit both nations - including SMEs.

What is the Department's policy on the use of Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanisms in future free trade agreements.

The UK’s International Investment Agreements aim to enhance opportunities for UK businesses to expand overseas, with commitments that seek to limit the barriers they face, make it easier to navigate local rules, and ensure investments are treated lawfully, and protected against unfair or arbitrary action. The UK draws on the full range of investment commitments and international best practice in our international investment agreements to promote growth, deliver our clean energy goals, and continue to uphold the UK’s right to regulate and build strong trade and investment relationships.