The House of Lords cross-party
International Agreements Committee, chaired by the former trade
and investment minister, , is today launching a new
inquiry ‘Trade in a
turbulent world: how should the UK deploy its trade
instruments?', which will
look into the UK
Government's use of different types of trade agreement, and
the wider future of rules-based trade in a turbulent
world.
In recent years,
growing trade volatility,
such as President Trump's
tariffs, has affected the broader
geopolitical context for rules-based
trade. Meanwhile, the rise of the
services sector and digital economy has contributed
to a proliferation of sector
specific agreements and ‘mini deals' in trade
policy, rather than traditional
Free Trade Agreements
(FTAs).
The committee is therefore seeking
evidence on issues including:
-
The future of rules-based
trade, including: who benefits from
the current system of rules-based trade, the
implications of the proliferation of ‘mini deals' for the
World Trade Organisation (WTO)
rules, and WTO reform options that are
in the UK's interest;
-
The UK's approach to
binding trade deals,
including: how effective UK international trade
policy has been in recent
years; whether the UK's
current trade policy's
objectives work in the
changing geopolitical climate; and how well areas
of UK strength, such as services, digital and
creative industries, are supported in the UK's current
trade agreements;
The committee is
inviting interested individuals
and organisations to submit written
evidence by Friday 22 May. The
full call for evidence is available on the
committee's website.
, Chair of the International
Agreements Committee
said:
“The Government faces the task
of adapting its trade policy
to a volatile geopolitical
landscape. As protectionism and
tariff turbulence alter the international landscape for
trade, the UK must also work
to prioritise trade
in growth-driving sectors
domestically: professional services, digital technologies and
the creative industries. The House
of Lords International Agreements Committee has set out
to address important questions as to how the UK should
adapt to these broader challenges to the
rules-based trade system.
“The recent UK-US ‘mini-deal' contained tariff
commitments in a
non-legally binding agreement, following the
imposition of tariffs by the Trump
administration. This unorthodox use
of a non-binding instrument throws
into sharp relief debates about WTO reform, including
the ‘Most Favoured Nation'
principle.”
“This example also
raises questions about
the stability of such non-binding
‘deals' for businesses. The inquiry will consider the extent to
which the use of non-FTA trade agreements, and non-binding
instruments, are compatible with the current system
of rules-based trade.”
“We encourage anyone with knowledge or
experience in this area to come forward and share their views, so
that we can undertake our duty of scrutiny most effectively
and make impactful recommendations to the
Government.”
