(Secretary of State for
International Trade and President of the Board of
Trade): I have previously informed the House that
in order to fulfil our obligations at the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) as we leave the European Union we will prepare
UK-specific schedules of concessions and commitments. On 19 July
I informed the House of the start of the process for
certification of the UK schedule for goods. I have today sent to
the secretariat of the WTO the UK schedule for services and I
will place a copy in the library.
This schedule replicates, as far as possible, our current
obligations at the WTO. We see this as a technical exercise for
which the WTO’s procedures for rectifications or improvements to
schedules provide the appropriate legal mechanism. These
procedures include a period for WTO members to raise objections
to the proposed schedule, and it is usual for some of them to do
so. If objections are raised, we will continue to work with WTO
members to resolve any concerns and see the objections withdrawn.
The UK can continue to trade on current terms on an uncertified
schedule, with no impact on trade flows, as is the case for other
countries trading on uncertified schedules.
Presenting our own UK Schedules at the WTO is a necessary part of
our leaving the EU. It does not in any way prejudge the outcome
of the eventual UK-EU trading arrangements.
