Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government how many bilateral free trade
agreements they expect to sign in the next 24 months.
The Minister of State, Department for International Trade ( of Lainston) (Con)
I refer noble Lords to my interests in the register. Our free
trade agreement programme is being delivered at a pace
unprecedented in global history. We are continuing negotiations
to join the CPTPP, currently negotiating with India, Canada,
Mexico, Israel, the GCC and Greenland and preparing for a new
trade deal with Switzerland. We have an ambitious programme, but
negotiating comprehensive and ambitious free trade agreements is
our priority and we will not sacrifice quality for speed.
(CB)
I thank the Minister for that, but the truth is that we are well
behind the target set in 2019 for free trade deals. Some of these
FTAs are now described by the Government themselves as “not very
good”. The trade and co-operation agreement with the EU is a case
in point. HMRC reports that the number of exporters to Europe
fell by 33% last year, with 9,000 out of 27,000 British
businesses giving up on exporting to our largest export market.
The Prime Minister before last promised us a bonfire of red tape,
not a bonfire of exporters. How will the Government address
this?
of Lainston (Con)
I thank the noble Lord for that very important point. The
Department for International Trade has worked extremely hard to
make sure that we have a global trade web of deals and that we
support our European traders. I draw noble Lords’ attention to
the export support service, which has had remarkable success in
ensuring that some of the glitches and hitches in trade with the
European Union have been removed.
(Lab)
My Lords, I am delighted that the Minister has said that he will
not sacrifice quality for pace, which we saw earlier with the
potential India deal. Can he reassure the House that this deal
will not be done easily just for a signature, but that we will
make sure that business and our professionals have access to a
fair market with safeguards for those working there?
of Lainston (Con)
I thank the noble Baroness for that point, which was well raised.
That is exactly what our negotiating teams are doing. This deal
with India will be significant for us. That nation should be the
second-largest economy in the world at some point over the next
five to 10 years; we want a close relationship with it, but on
the right terms. I appreciate her comment.
(Con)
My Lords, in drawing attention to Latin America, I refer to my
interests in the register. I believe that Chile was the first
country, if not in the world then certainly in Latin America, to
sign up to a new free trade agreement post Brexit. It was
basically a rollover agreement. Given that the Government are
negotiating a new trade agreement with Mexico, can my noble
friend say whether the same is intended for Chile?
of Lainston (Con)
I greatly appreciate my noble friend raising that question—and
her debate last night—and encouraging attention on central
America. I thank her for the work she does as our trade envoy to
those countries. Chile is a very important country for trade with
the UK. I am very pleased to say that I attended, along with
Minister Rutley, a Chile financial services conference only three
days ago. Clearly, we have a number of free trade agreements to
enact and an extremely busy schedule. When the opportunity comes
for us to expand further on the incredible list I have already
presented to the House, I have no doubt that countries such as
Chile will be under consideration.
(LD)
I have been told for years that human rights will be an integral
part of all FTAs, but the Minister told the House last night that
this will no longer be the case. The OBR has now confirmed that
our economy will be 4% smaller because of the enormous trade
barriers with our nearest trading partners. The UK is now
dependent on goods from China to the tune of a trade deficit of
nearly £40 billion. Is it not in our economic and strategic
interests to move away from this trend of dependency on
autocracies and non-democratic countries and make it easier to
have free trade with free nations, especially in Europe?
of Lainston (Con)
I greatly thank the noble Lord for that point. We are all aware
of the importance of resilience in our supply chains,
particularly when it comes to nations around the world that may
not share our values and interests. As for Europe, I refer him to
the comment I just made about the export support service and the
additional work and funding we are putting in to help our
exporters export to Europe.
(CB)
My Lords, in an earlier answer, the Minister said that the
Government have eased trade to the European Union with several
measures. Could he share a list of them with the House now?
of Lainston (Con)
I thank the noble Lord for that question. Clearly, it is not
designed to put me on the spot to reel off a list of measures
from the top of my head. It would be much more useful for us to
have a full debate on this matter and for me to respond to the
House with a written answer to that question.
(Lab)
My Lords, the Government promised that 80% of international trade
would be covered by free trade agreements by the end of this
year. However, there is no sign of a trade deal with the United
States and, as we have heard, we do not yet know what is
happening with India. Does the Minister acknowledge that the
economic chaos created by the Government has done huge damage to
the UK’s international reputation, making it harder to strike
these trade deals and attract inward international
investment?
of Lainston (Con)
I thank the noble Baroness. I should point out that it is our
leaving the European Union that now allows us to create trade
deals. Without that measure, we would not be in a position to
create FTAs with some of the largest economies in the world.
Without wishing to overexpand on my answer, I foresee this
country becoming a global superpower again—
Noble Lords
Oh!
of Lainston (Con)
Noble Lords may not wish for this, but I do. We will be able to
have trade agreements with India, the GCC, the CPTPP,
Switzerland, Greenland, Mexico and Canada, and ultimately, state
by state, with the US. This is an extremely powerful policy to
allow our professionals to generate wealth and security by
working in these states. I applaud the DIT for the work it has
been doing on that front.
(Con)
My interests are declared in the register as co-chair of one of
the business councils and director of another, both of which are
voluntary. Will the Minister confirm that he will not turn these
FTAs into Christmas trees covering everything under the sun and,
in the process, miss the one thing that matters, which is
trade?
of Lainston (Con)
I greatly thank my noble friend for his comment. At no point have
the Government not taken human rights very seriously, but we see
trade deals as specifically focused on trade. This is exactly
what we want to increase the inward investment and exports that
my good friends the noble Lords opposite are so keen on.
(CB)
My Lords, following on from the last question, could the Minister
explain why the Government were happy to agree to a human rights
clause in all the FTAs to which we were party as an EU member but
now seem determined to ditch human rights from the bilateral
negotiations?
of Lainston (Con)
I take that question with great sensitivity. It is very important
to separate the two concepts. In these FTAs, we have a great
focus on labour rights, which are more relevant to the concept of
product arbitrage. That is more relevant in looking at the FTAs
and the good work we can do to align our values with the sorts of
countries that the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, wanted us to do more
trade with, rather than those that do not necessarily share our
values and are not aligned with our security direction.
(Lab)
My Lords, may I ask the Minister what aspect of a free trade
agreement with the 56,000 people who live in Greenland will
contribute to us being a global superpower?
of Lainston (Con)
Every country has its advantages, as the noble Lord will know if
he has read his Ricardo. Greenland is actually one of the
greatest exporters in the world of fresh-water prawns, so when he
looks forward to his prawn cocktail sandwich in the Lords Dining
Room, he will be grateful for the free trade agreements that we
have negotiated. I add that the geostrategic importance of FTAs
is not to be underestimated. Some smaller countries that fit
within our trading ambitions are extremely relevant to us in the
alliances we are now creating as the next trading superpower.
(LD)
My Lords, in response to the noble Lord, Lord Hannay, the
Minister said that it would be unreasonable to expect him to reel
off a list of measures which the Government have taken to improve
our trade with the EU. Taking the Minister at his word, I am not
expecting a list, but could he just satisfy the House to the
extent of listing one measure?
of Lainston (Con)
I thank the noble Lord very much, and I hope he did not think I
was being facetious. The importance of trade with Europe is
paramount in the mind of the Department for International Trade,
and on account of that I met with His Majesty’s trade
commissioner to Europe this morning to discuss further work that
we could do to remove the glitches, hitches and hurdles that
confront some of our businesses in the post-Brexit vision of
Britain. The export support service, which was started last year
with a lot of input from myself and the board of the Department
for International Trade, has been hugely successful in assisting
traders in their exporting efforts to Europe. We have also
recruited additional trade support in Europe and have in-housed
our international trade advisers in this country to give more
support to people who wish to export to Europe. There is a
significant list. We have repointed our efforts at the DIT, we
are making substantial headway, and the results have been
extremely strong.
