Speeches by Bryant.

“No, I do not think it would be fair to say that. I was not involved when that went through but I understand that, as I said earlier, because the British Government, working with the US Government, created an environment in which people felt confident to make those investments, they were able to proceed. Similarly, when…”

“You did not have to coerce me.”

“I think the Chancellor has been asked directly about it in the Chamber, so I would be inclined to go with whatever she said.”

“Of course. If you go back to steel, which is the classic instance, I think from memory that—I might have got these figures wrong—in 1970 we produced 27.8 million tonnes of steel in the UK. That was our peak. When we got to 2010, I think it was something like 9.4 million and now it is 4 million. The rapid fall in the la…”

“True, which is one of the reasons why we quite often focus on our services capacity. That is part of our negotiation with China at the moment—to be able to unlock much more potential with UK trade and services to China.”

“Indeed. But also, the free flow of trade is vital to everybody.”

“As Kate has just said, and so far as I am aware—I have not been in any of the rooms personally, so I am a bit hesitant about precisely what I can say—it has not been raised.”

“It did indeed. But Norway is—well, anyway. One of the things that infuriates me is this: how on earth did we get to a place in the world where, despite the fact that critical minerals are deposited and extracted in large numbers of countries around the world, many of them are either 70%, 80%, 90% or 95% processed in on…”

“No. It is British legislation. We brought it in, and I think it is necessary. Indeed, we may need to go further, but it is a matter for DSIT to decide exactly how far we go.”

“There are a whole series of issues relating to hauliers where we have some concerns; I will ask Amanda to respond more fully in a moment. I have hauliers in my patch who have raised similar concerns. We are discussing the issue with Commissioner Šefčovič and his colleagues in the Commission. Another area that I know ha…”

“Sorry, Chair. If I might, I think there is actually a role for the Select Committee in relation to this. If we want to win some arguments in the European Parliament, it may be that the Select Committee here might want to speak to them.”

“We have obviously had one gain already in relation to beef—I was licked a lot by some beef cattle the other day on a farm outside Dorking. The US produces a great deal more beef than we do, but I think our product is materially different. It is for a very specific market, and I hope it is going to do very well. The DEF…”

“Yes, that’s right. He was adamant that he was going to make sure that, before the Act was published, it was going to be more sensible. I am very hopeful that he and the German Government will be yet more helpful over the next version, when it comes to going through committee and so on.”

“No, I do not accept that. That is certainly not the view when I have spoken to my German counterpart, my—I could go through a list, and I am quite happy to provide the list if that is something that is useful to you, of other countries that we have spoken to.”

“The draft that was published was, I think, not the version that was anticipated in December, and the draft that was anticipated in December would have excluded us from everything. That is why, notwithstanding the very significant concerns we have about the automotive sector, I was pleased last week to see the version t…”

“Poor old Elizabeth Barrett!”

“I might have to write to you, because although I read it all last week, it is not at the top of my mind. When I met with SMMT on Wednesday or Thursday—whichever day it was—the key point it was making to me was about access to fleet sales.”

“No. I was going to come on to the point about automotives because I met Willie Bain and others and the SMMT on Thursday afternoon, I think—the day after the Accelerator Act had come out—or maybe on the Wednesday. I can’t remember; it was one or the other. They made those points, and we have registered the points as wel…”

“I am very happy to. I am going to Brussels on Monday, I am going to Paris on Tuesday, and I think on Wednesday I am going to the Netherlands, as well, to meet members of the new Government there.”

“I am told there are others making a different argument, and I am visiting Paris on Tuesday.”