Maldives: Tariffs

Lord Boateng Excerpts

Tuesday 14th December 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Grimstone of Boscobel (Con)]

My Lords, that is another good point made by my noble friend. The issue of a free trade agreement covering the whole of the Commonwealth is the rich diversity of nations in the Commonwealth. Some are large and some are small; some have a certain economic capacity and others have another economic capacity. A free trade agreement with the Commonwealth would of course have to be negotiated over that whole range of countries. It is a wonderful, idyllic idea but in practice it would be hard to achieve.

[Lord Boateng (Lab)]

My Lords, we all understand why the Minister’s department cannot do everything at once, but why is Africa so often at the bottom of the list?

[Lord Grimstone of Boscobel (Con)]

My Lords, I think that is a rather unfair point. I do not have the figures at my fingertips but I well remember a debate that we had just a couple of months ago on the agreements that we have reached with certain African countries. We are making progress. Of course we would all like to make more progress, but at a time of limited capacity you have to prioritise.