UK-US Trade

Debate between Baroness Gustafsson and Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

Monday 12th May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gustafsson (Lab)]

I would be very delicate about suggesting such a thing, but one of the things that we do really well within this nation is that, whichever side of the House we are sitting on, we all want to see the opportunity to trade and understand the value that it contributes to the UK economy. I think we can all agree that this is a really powerful first step that supports the great nation that we all operate within.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

The noble Baroness will be aware that one of the reasons we were unable to negotiate a trade deal with the EU was that we did not wish to introduce hormone-produced beef. If the animal is fed with hormones, it does not show up. How can she reassure the British consumer that we will not import any beef produced with any hormone whatever?

[Baroness Gustafsson (Lab)]

I thank the noble Baroness for her question. It is an important point that we have been able to open up such trading opportunities while protecting our incredibly powerful and well-respected food standards. I am not necessarily familiar with the specifics of how we can detect whether those standards have been complied with, and I will endeavour to write to her to follow up on that matter.

EU Law

Debate between Baroness Gustafsson and Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

Tuesday 28th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gustafsson (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for the question. The Government are committed to driving economic growth and working hand in hand with the regulators to make sure that that growth can be achieved in a sustainable way that is fair to all markets and ultimately beneficiary to consumers. The Government are committed to maintaining the independence of those regulators, but we work with them to provide an overall strategic steer on the directions and priorities they should be working towards so that they can work hand in hand with us and our priorities around growth.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I welcome the noble Baroness to her position. Have she and her department made an assessment of the cost to the UK chemical industry of having to match both a UK REACH programme and an EU REACH programme? Is this part of the reset that the Government will look at in our relations with the European Union?

[Baroness Gustafsson (Lab)]

I thank the noble Baroness for the warm welcome. With regard to REACH, we held a consultation on an alternative transitional registration model for the UK REACH chemicals regime to reduce the cost to industry while ensuring high levels of human health and environmental protection. We will publish a government response in 2025.