The International Agreements Sub-Committee has written to the
Government outlining the concerns they’ve heard from
stakeholders about some of the Government’s planned trade
agreements and calls for “stronger powers for Parliament in
scrutinising trade deals”.
Background
The International Agreements Sub-Committee is currently
holding two inquiries into the UK’s trade negotiations with
the US and Japan. Lord Goldsmith QC, Chair of the Committee,
has today called for more detail on the progress and
objectives of trade negotiations in two letters to Secretary
of State, Rt Hon. Elizabeth Truss MP. The letters, one in
relation to UK-US trade talks and the other on UK-Japan
negotiations, detail initial concerns with the ongoing
negotiations and areas where the Committee calls for more
transparency with Parliament to support scrutiny.
Chair’s Comments
Lord Goldsmith, Chair of the International Agreements
Sub-Committee stated:
"As our recent report into effective treaty scrutiny
suggested, there is incredibly limited time for us – and
for stakeholders across the UK – to scrutinise UK treaty
negotiations effectively, which raises concerns over
ensuring these deals provide real value to all parts of the
UK, the industries affected and to the public as a whole.
While that is the Government’s ambition, Parliament must be
able to scrutinise the Government’s actions and check
whether that ambition has been realised.
"Post-Brexit, the UK finds itself in a wholly new position.
As an EU Member State, much of the work negotiating
agreements was done on our behalf and the European
Parliament, including UK MEPs, scrutinised these deals with
veto powers. Now, the UK Government and Parliament are
taking up these functions, but Parliament has very limited
formal powers. We therefore urge the Secretary of State to
come back to us with more details about how the Government
plans to achieve its goals, the progress of negotiations,
and the specific areas we have outlined in these letters."
