-
(LD)
I thank the Minister for his reply. I hope he is aware of the
Africa All-Party Group’s report on UK-Africa trade, which
underlines the potentially damaging impact of Brexit on
African economies. Will the Government consider carefully the
report’s recommendations, in particular the need to
prioritise a transitional regime to maintain preferential,
non-reciprocal market access to the UK for those African
economies?
-
I thank the noble Lord for his Question, but I do not accept
his pessimistic outlook. We have said that the economic
partnership agreements we have in place through the EU are
working well and we want them to continue. We set that out in
the exiting the EU White Paper. Our intention is to have
other measures in place by the time that exiting happens. The
great benefit of this is that we will not be bound or limited
to the trade preferences currently through the EU. We can
have a broad new arrangement that will benefit African
countries as well as our own.
-
(Lab)
My Lords, I am glad that the Prime Minister has made clear
her commitment to the 0.7% figure. That is terribly
important. As the House will be aware, while there is global
growth, poverty is growing in Africa, where there is
increasing inequality. What are the Government doing to
ensure that trade and development policies are inclusive and
pro-poor? Will the noble Lord agree that, as we step up our
trade relationships, we must ensure that they enhance
sustainable and inclusive development?
-
That is right. All those points were made by the Secretary of
State when she launched the economic development strategy in
Ethiopia in January. We have taken this matter forward
seriously. No country has ever successfully defeated poverty
without economic development and economic growth. We want to
be at the forefront of ensuring not only that there is FDI
but that those countries can have access to our markets on
the most preferential terms.
-
(CB)
My Lords, does the Minister recognise that the relationship
with the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries which we
have as a member of the EU covers a lot more than just trade
and aid? It also covers guaranteeing the export receipts from
primary materials and sugar. What plans do the Government
have to look after those aspects when we have left the
European Union?
-
Those are all important points, as the noble Lord will know,
which is why we want to make sure that arrangements relating
to all matters covered by the EPAs continue not just until
the point at which we leave but beyond. We want also to take
the opportunity to discuss with our bilateral partners in
Africa, the Caribbean and elsewhere how we can improve on the
current arrangements so that they might work better for those
in poor countries.
-
(Con)
My Lords, further to the point that my noble friend the
Minister has just made, can he confirm that African exporters
to Britain face the high EU external tariff and that, after
Brexit, there will an opportunity to review that and
therefore to increase trade between the UK and Africa?
-
My noble friend is right to raise that point. The
lowest-income countries are able to come in duty free and
tariff free under the Everything but Arms agreement, but
there is more to be done on the middle-income countries.
There is now more flexibility: we are leaving the EU, but we
are still embracing the world. We want to put free trade at
the heart of everything that we do—that has been set out
clearly. The opportunity for free trade to lift ever more
people out of poverty around the world is something that we
will grasp with full measure.
-
The Lord Bishop of Southwark
The Minister may know that I am a regular visitor to
Zimbabwe, where my diocese has links with four of the five
Anglican dioceses there. How do Her Majesty’s Government
propose to respond to the preponderance of Chinese investment
both there and in other African nations, both in
infrastructure and major economic undertakings?
-
I do not think that we see investment in Africa by any
country as a problem. We see a significant gap in finance and
investment, which Africa needs. The gap to meet the global
goals is some $2.5 trillion per year whereas aid flows amount
to only some $150 billion. The gap has to be filled by
private investors. We welcome them from wherever they come.
As the right reverend Prelate will know, we are certainly
playing our part in Zimbabwe to encourage investment and to
identify investment opportunities in both directions.
-
(LD)
My Lords, in January this year, Dr Rob Davies, the South
Africa Minister of Trade and Industry, reminded the
Government that the United Kingdom is the major destination
among EU nations for South African investment. It invests
more here than in any other EU country. The UK also accounts
for 20% of South Africa’s wine exports and 30% of its fruit
exports under the current EU economic partnership agreements.
What specific actions are the Government taking to allay
South African concerns and to maintain the strength of what
is a key strategic market post Brexit, when the UK will be
excluded from some of those treaties?
-
That conversation happened when , the Secretary of State for
International Trade, was in South Africa talking about how we
could enhance trade co-operation between our two countries.
It is important that we do that. We also need to see Africa
as a tremendous opportunity—I know that the noble Lord shares
my view on this. Africa will be a market of some $30 trillion
by 2050 and will have a middle class the size of Europe. It
is in our enlightened self-interest to build those strong
links and maintain free trade.
-
(Lab)
Does the noble Lord accept that the elephant in the room in
this debate is a country called China? China is growing very
fast in Africa and says quite explicitly that it thinks it
very important that the main Chinese relationship will be
with the EU. Instead of saying that everything in the garden
will be lovely, would not the Minister find it more useful to
think how the constructive relationship with EU countries and
the EU as such will continue?
-
I totally agree but refer to the point I made before that the
problem in the crisis we face at the moment, particularly in
sub-Saharan Africa, is a shortage of investment rather than
too much. All the investments made by other countries and
private investors are of course a matter between that
particular country and the investor making those decisions.
We do not want to get in the middle of that. We want to
encourage as much investment as possible in that area so that
growth can happen.
-
(Lab)
My Lords, the key to what the noble Lord said is that there
are opportunities here but principles must govern them. The
most important principle is a pro-poor and pro-development
policy. Can the Minister assure the House that his department
will be heavily involved in future trade negotiations with
Africa? I do not have confidence in the Minister responsible
for international trade to carry through those principles.
-
That is the reason we set up a cross-government programme
including the prosperity fund to build economic trade and
development. It is why we hosted the Commonwealth Trade
Ministers’ meeting here last year. It is the reason the
Secretary of State for International Trade is travelling
round the world with his other Ministers, trying to put in
place the groundwork for these trade agreements in future. We
all recognise that free, unfettered trade is one of the best
routes out of poverty ever known and we need to do more to
encourage it so that people get the opportunity to come off
aid dependency and into a self-sustaining economic future.
-
(CB)
My Lords, today is World Malaria Day. I do not expect the
Minister to have read and digested the report published
today, Global Britain and Ending Malaria: The Bottom Line,
compiled by Malaria No More and Ernst & Young, but it
sets out that malaria costs this country £765 million in lost
trade opportunities with the most affected countries. Does he
agree that investment in malaria control not only saves lives
and improves the economies of the affected countries but is a
major benefit to this country in terms of life sciences
investment and boosting British trade?
-
I am very happy to do that on World Malaria Day. I have not
seen that particular report but the World Health
Organization’s annual report, published in December, pointed
to the fact that malaria-related deaths have reduced by some
60%, which means about 6 million lives have been saved as a
result. That was why the Secretary of State announced in
September that we will invest a further £1.1 billion in the
global fund to tackle AIDS, TB and malaria, which is another
demonstration of this Government’s commitment to the poor.
