Turkey: Free Trade Agreement Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateLord Lennie
Main Page: Lord Lennie (Labour - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Lennie's debates with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
(3 years, 4 months ago)
Grand CommitteeMy Lords, I join the chorus of approval of and appreciation for the International Agreements Committee for its excellent report on the UK-Turkey trade agreement. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, for securing today’s debate. The parliamentary scrutiny of such agreements is crucial and an important part of what has come to be known as the Grimstone rule, the current rule by which we are able to scrutinise trade agreements, as agreed during the passage of the Trade Bill. As the Minister said in February, the Grimstone rule includes the commitment for the Government to,
“facilitate requests, including those from the relevant Select Committees, for debate on the agreements.”—[Official Report, 23/2/21; col. 724.]
I therefore thank the Minister and the Government Whips for demonstrating how quickly a debate can be organised.
Just as scrutiny is necessary, clarity about how quickly debates can be arranged is also necessary. This would allow Ministers to inform partners and businesses of accurate timelines for ratification and allow them to plan accordingly. Parliament is just doing its job today, and it is in the Government’s power to improve the Grimstone rule to clear up any uncertainties.
Turning to the detail of the agreement, we believe that it is very important from the economic point of view. As we heard from my noble and learned friend Lord Goldsmith and the noble Viscount, Lord Trenchard, Turkey is our 19th largest trading partner. In 2019, trade in goods and services between Turkey and the UK was worth £1.87 billion. It is welcome that the agreement will allow the key imports and exports to continue. However, the committee states:
“It is therefore not a comprehensive free trade agreement: it does not cover services trade, investment, substantive public procurement provisions, or digital trade.”
Moreover, we do not know its full economic impact, like many of the new continuity agreements or even the UK-EU FTA. Why do Ministers have an aversion to publishing economic impact assessments of agreements that they negotiate?
The UK-Turkey trade agreement does not roll over the EU-Turkey customs union, but introduces new rules of origin requirements, as we heard. These changes have certainly been felt by business. SMMT has said that automotive businesses have reported significant challenges since the agreement was provisionally applied and faced additional burdens related to origin certificates. The IAC asked the Government to provide an impact assessment of additional costs on UK businesses as a result of these changes. In response, the Government have said:
“if traders fulfil the Rules of Origin requirements, then the tariffs they are charged will stay the same as previously. The very few exceptions where there are minor changes to tariffs … will have minimal impact on trade flows.”
What are these exceptions? What trade flows in which sectors could be affected? When will updated business guidance on rules of origin be published?
The other notable differences are in human rights and workers’ rights, as we have heard. The agreement does not include provisions on human rights or workers’ rights, with the Explanatory Memorandum stating that the agreement
“covers trade in goods only”.
I remind the Minister that the International Trade Union Confederation has named Turkey as one of the world’s top 10 worst countries for workers. The International Agreements Committee’s report said:
“We regret the absence of any reference to human rights and workers’ rights in the Agreement and call on the Government to explain how it proposes to uphold its vision of ‘values-driven free trade’ in respect of the UK-Turkey relationship.”
We share that concern. What is becoming abundantly clear from the Government’s approach is that they have sought to do the bare minimum to replicate the human rights requirements in existing EU trade agreements.
This all raises the obvious question of whether the Government still believe in the principle that the UK has supported and which has been adhered to by the EU since 2009—that all trade agreements should contain as an essential element a human rights clause. The Minister told the House during the passage of the Trade Bill that trade does not have to come at the expense of human rights. So what happened here?
As the IAC noted,
“the UK-Turkey Agreement is not intended to be permanent”
and the Government aim to develop an “enhanced” agreement following a review within two years. As part of this, why will not the Minister accept the committee’s recommendation for the Government to hold an early public consultation?
Since the agreement was negotiated, the Government have published their integrated review, which outlines how they want to work with Turkey going forward, stating that it should be a partnership on a
“focused set of interests where we can find common cause, such as values, free trade and a commitment to transatlanticism.”
Values and trade are to be considered equally when the Government look to improve the economically important agreement for businesses and workers alike—and there is significant room for improvement.