Multilateral Free Trade
Debate between Lord Howell of Guildford and Lord Leong
Lord Leong (Lab)
My Lords, the noble Baroness makes a very important point. The Government’s policy is to engage with countries whose human rights records fall short, as opposed to isolation and the removal of our ability to support high standards. By having strong economic relationships with partners, the Government can have more open discussions on a range of issues, including human rights. We will push for this in any future FTAs.
Lord Howell of Guildford (Con)
My Lords, can the Minister bring us up to date with the latest developments on the critical minerals negotiations between the US and the UK? When they began, they seemed to have a very strong protectionist element in them against British exports and particularly the British motor industry—has there been any improvement? Are we getting to a better situation than the initial one, which was very hostile to our exports and interests?
Lord Leong (Lab)
My Lords, the noble Lord makes a very important point; regretfully, I do not have substantive details on that, and I will come back to him. In general principles, the UK is a very supportive and open trading economy, and we will push for that in any of our trade relationships and negotiations with other countries.