5. Statement by the Minister for International Relations and Welsh Language: Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:49 pm on 6 May 2020.

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Photo of David Rees David Rees Labour 4:49, 6 May 2020

Minister, I want to focus on the international trade aspects of your responsibilities, and in your statement, you highlight the fact that the UK Government is continuing—or, actually, has just started its UK-US trade deal discussions, and it's still ongoing with its UK-EU trade deal discussions. My concern is that they may be trying to play each other off, and in a year in which there are political ambitions in America for a President who's coming up for re-election, that may be dangerous. But can I ask a question as to how much feedback you are getting, Minister, on the progress of those discussions? And also, what involvement is the Welsh Government having in setting the negotiation mandates for Japan? Because you've highlighted that, actually, the Japanese agreement will be more important to Wales than the US agreement. So, are you having any input into setting the mandate for the Japanese discussions?