Civil society organisations and business organisations to give evidence on UK trade policy

Tomorrow, the House of Lords International Agreements will be questioning two panels of witnesses as part of its ongoing inquiry into the future of rules-based trade.  

The first session will be with civil society organisations and an expert in development. The second session will focus on goods trade and manufacturing. 

Giving evidence at 2pm will be: 

• Rosa Crawford, Head of International, Trades Union Congress  

• Tom Wills, Director, Trade Justice Movement  

• Amrita Saha, Senior Fellow, Institute of Development Studies 

Topics that will be covered include: 

• The Government's trade policy in the areas of labour, development and the environment to date; 

• UK's priorities in reforming and strengthening the rules-based international trading system; 

• How trade instruments could be used more effectively to support developing countries while advancing UK interests; 

• How well current UK trade agreements balance promoting trade and investment, with preserving governments' ability to regulate in the public interest.  

Giving evidence at 3pm will be: 

• Maxwell Green, Senior Trade Policy Manager, Make UK  

• Fionnuala Horrocks-Burns, Public Affairs and Policy Director, DHL 

Topics that will be covered include: 

• Main issues in trade policy and flows in the current geopolitical climate; 

• Form and type of beneficial trade agreements , including any recent examples; 

• Trade policy changes that could improve the business landscape; 

• Technical customs challenges and possible solutions; 

• Multilateral developments. 

The session will take place on Tuesday 20 October 2026 and can be followed live on Parliament TV.