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Following her first ever visit to Israel this month, International Trade Secretary Liz Truss hailed the £5 billion UK-Israel trade partnership and reaffirmed her commitment to signing an advanced free trade agreement, in the House of Commons this week.
During International Trade Questions, Michael Fabricant MP asked specifically about the high-tech industry, observing that Israel has one of the highest number of high-tech start-ups in the world, and that the “Intel chips in all our computers were designed in Israel”.
The Secretary of State responded by noting that the “UK and Israel are both leaders in technology, from agritech to gaming to medtech”.
She added that in a new trade deal with Israel, the UK was seeking “an advanced digital and technology chapter that looks to industries of the future to give both countries more opportunities”.
Scott Benton MP welcomed the International Trade Secretary’s commitment to signing an advanced FTA “with our close ally Israel”.
Highlighting that “Israel is a growing export market for UK companies”, he asked what steps the Secretary of State was taking “to champion UK made products being sold in Israel, and what more can be done to boost UK exports of things such as cars, machinery and clothing”.
Ms Truss underlined in her response that the UK-Israel trade partnership “is already worth £5 billion a year, but we want to turbocharge that”.
Speaking from Israel, Christian Wakeford MP asked “what progress has been made on an advanced high-tech free trade agreement with Israel, and what help can she offer the likes of the Northern Health Science Alliance in conjunction with Israel?”
