6. Will the Counsel General outline the remit of the trade policy advisory group announced in his written statement of 3 November 2020? OQ55839

Yes. The trade policy advisory group provides expert strategic advice to the Welsh Government on international trade matters and helps shape our positions in relation to free trade agreements.

Thank you for that answer, Counsel General. For a number of years, the Scottish Government have had a trade board, which was one of the commitments in their trade and investment strategy, with the aim of identifying and supporting exports to new markets, bringing together a range of expertise to advise the Scottish Government. It's clear that the Scottish Government has made great strides in understanding its export market. It feels that we are some way behind in this regard. Could you tell us what evidence you can take from Scotland and how you can develop Welsh policy so we have an equally good trade policy here and relationship with that sector?

Well, the work of the trade policy advisory group, of course, is only one of the ways in which the Welsh Government identifies opportunities to engage internationally. The First Minister is making a statement later today in relation to the international strategy more broadly. And, as I think the Member will know, we have invested significantly in supporting Welsh exporters to navigate the changes that lie ahead as a consequence of leaving the European transition period, including additional resources to give very specific, bespoke advice to exporters about managing that new landscape. And I think that very practical way of supporting our businesses and employers is one of the key areas in which we can support the economy here in Wales.

The point of TPAG, as we are calling it, it to help us exactly to identify some of those key areas that help shape our position in relation to those trade agreements. But it's part of a broad range of interventions that we have to understand the markets available to our exporters, including presence overseas, and that will become increasingly important in the years ahead, it seems to me.