Multilateral Free Trade

Lord Spellar Excerpts

Monday 6th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

The noble Lord makes a very interesting point. Tariffs are not good for trade: they will make things more expensive. We have benefited from tariff-free trading relationships with many countries, and consumers have also benefited from cheaper prices, so we must constantly engage with our trading partners to have tariff-free trade.

[Lord Spellar (Lab)]

Do the Government accept that there must be a level playing field and free trade also has to be fair trade? Given that nearly all other countries’ public sector purchases give priority to their own domestic producers, is it not time that we did the same and supported British firms and British workers?