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Trade Agreements: Dispute Resolution

Asked by Dame Harriett BaldwinConservativeDepartment for Business and TradeTabled Answered 16 December 2025UIN 99173

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what is the Department's policy on the use of Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanisms in future free trade agreements.

Answered by Chris Bryant

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.

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