Negotiating Objectives for a Free Trade Agreement with India

Lord Udny-Lister Excerpts

Tuesday 6th September 2022 Grand Committee

[Lord Udny-Lister (Con)]

My Lords, in speaking in this debate, I draw attention to my interests as set out in the register and to my work for HSBC. I, too, thank the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter, for securing this debate.

I mention the importance of this debate. It is now, I think, universally acknowledged that India is indeed on the climb and that by some projections it will become the world’s third-largest economy by 2050. As a country now unshackled from the EU and ready to embark on its own programme of international trade, securing a free trade deal with India is of strategic importance to the future success and prosperity of the United Kingdom.

That said, we all knew that this negotiation was going to be extremely challenging. India is well known for having tough and experienced negotiators, long-standing protectionist tendencies and complex regional variations in its bureaucracy. That backdrop provides a challenging, yet not impossible, set of circumstances which our Ministers and negotiators have had to overcome. I must draw your Lordships’ attention to the progress that the Government have made, especially after the Prime Minister’s recent visit to India, which seems to have secured a resumption in proper dialogue, providing a jolt of energy that secured more frequent communication between the UK Government and the Indian Government. The evidence for this is quite clear. We have now seen the problems surrounding Cairn Energy and Vodafone, which have been going on for many years—for Cairn Energy, they are over 10 years old—start to move towards some resolution.

In short, dialogue between the two Governments is important, and we have not had it at this level for some time. Her Majesty’s Government have made it crystal clear for some time now that the intention is to tilt the future of UK trade towards the Indo-Pacific. Thus, securing a free trade agreement with India will not only complement the UK’s existing commitments in the region, but strengthen our ambitions with regard to the CPTPP.

Some say that the brakes need to be applied to these negotiations. They do so by voicing concerns that some sectors may get left behind or that, through speed, our standards may become weakened. However, I see things very differently. International trade is moving at an unprecedented pace, and all the time we ask to stall, all the hours that are left dwindling, provide only an opportunity for others to come knocking at India’s door and for our overall negotiating position to become weakened. I challenge those who call on the Government for such a delay to show some faith in the natural forces of the market and to look at the Government’s recent successful track record in delivering free trade deals at a considerable pace and for the benefit of the UK.

It must be remembered that, in working with India, we are not starting from scratch. We are working with an old friend whom we know well, and it knows us. The UK has a long, complex and important relationship with India. Our already established economic links are significant—£23 billion in 2019—and through the Commonwealth the UK and India are already strategically aligned and share a common set of values and ambitions that can only be strengthened through proper trade. The Government should be commended for capitalising on the Commonwealth advantage in securing free trade deals with several Commonwealth countries, including Australia and New Zealand, and it would be great if India became the next.

Our cultural links with India provide a perfect backdrop for the forging of a new and ambitious future. Some 1.5 million British nationals are of Indian origin. With half a million jobs in each other’s economies already supported, the Government’s objectives not only look sound but are the way to move forward in future. The success of the Indian diaspora in the UK has laid that foundation for better business-to-business and Government-to-business relations. I hope that the Government can explore this as a way in which we can grow our business.

The geopolitical situation we currently face could not be more trying. Both India and the UK are now in the process of recovery from the twin shocks of Covid and the crisis in Ukraine. We have seen aggression and protectionism from certain states reaching levels that we can now feel at home. With this comes an absolute need for our businesses to be given the freedom to diversify into alternative markets. That is why we should encourage this negotiation to move at pace.

In their statement, the Government have made it abundantly clear that they are entirely committed to upholding the UK’s high environmental, labour, food safety and animal welfare standards. However, on the environment, would my noble friend the Minister agree that an FTA with India would provide an exceptional opportunity for the advancement of the UK’s leading renewables sector and that British firms currently innovating in this sector stand a great chance of playing a big role in the decarbonisation of the Indian economy? Further to this, I would be grateful if he could outline what actions the Government are taking to ensure that reducing tariffs on our green exports is an integral part of FTA negotiations, especially given that India has now committed to sourcing 50% of its energy from renewables.

We also have a proud history of standing up for and advancing human rights, particularly for women. The fact is that India has considerably weaker labour laws than the UK—a point made by the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Harries. There are documented cases of widespread discrimination against women in India, which must not be ignored. It is vital that our trade deals are never seen to undermine the UK’s international commitment to gender equality. I therefore want clarity in these negotiations on what mechanisms the Government are seeking to deploy to strengthen labour protections, either formally through the agreement or informally, which is probably more likely.

In turning to the important area of digital trade, it is worth noting that digital and data services will underpin the success of the FTA secured. With this in mind, the UK must ensure that an adequate data protection regime is in place. Again, I would be grateful if we could get an update on that. I fully understand that there is no data legislation as such in India, although it is currently being put back through Parliament. I suspect that this whole section will be removed from the negotiations, but it is important that we ensure that we have some mechanism for coming back to it at a later point.

Public procurement is an area where we are, I hope, negotiating hard. Historically, there has been a reluctance from India to include public procurement in its FTAs but, in evaluating the growth of the Indian economy and seeing the exceptional demand for its infrastructure, it would be a huge loss if UK business did not have an opportunity to gain market access under the FTA. Again, it would be great if we could have some update on that.

This issue has already been raised but, through the UK Bribery Act 2010 and other legislation, the UK has a strong and tested anti-corruption framework. It is worrying, however, that some UK SMEs have either been put off trading or stopped trading altogether with India due to corruption concerns. I would be interested to know how we are going to deal with that.

The UK’s financial and professional services rely on the recognition and transferability of professional qualifications. This is most pressing in the legal sector, which, if we get this right, could stand to benefit significantly from the FTA. In pursuing the FTA negotiations, I would like Her Majesty’s Government to strive to achieve recognition of UK professional qualifications, particularly our legal qualifications, when UK professionals seek to enter India’s regulated professions. This step has the ability to increase drastically both the UK’s legal services exports to and legal services imports from India, so it is of value to both sides.

It is clear that the recognition of academic qualifications is just one part of the jigsaw puzzle. If the UK legal sector is really to reap the benefits of this FTA, we need to see a relaxation of visa restrictions on both sides, particularly for legal graduates and professionals. If the Government are successful in easing the cross-border movement of legal professionals, there will be an enormous benefit to be gained by lawyers both here and in India. We know that India wants market access to the UK’s legal sector, but we also know that it is protectionist about its own. AI and cybersecurity are other areas that are important in these negotiations.

In voting to leave the European Union, as we have now done, the British public were told that this would be our opportunity to set a course on a new era of international free trade. The Government have a clear mandate to use the UK’s recently regained sovereignty to seek and secure such free trade agreements. I wish our new Prime Minister and her team godspeed in delivering this one.

Restoration and Renewal: Location of House of Lords Chamber

Lord Udny-Lister Excerpts

Monday 16th May 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord True (Con)]

My Lords, as I have said, the QEII conference centre is a commercially run trading fund, and it is an executive agency of DLUHC. The noble and learned Baroness asks a hypothetical question, and I will clearly not pre-empt, even in this, how Parliament might decide to proceed. Each House of Parliament has the right to regulate its own proceedings and internal affairs, and we shall see what might happen.

[Lord Udny-Lister (Con)]

My Lords, the QEII Centre is probably one of the worst buildings in London, so I am totally in tune with the Secretary of State when he says that the Government do not want us there. But the reality is that this building’s problem is services, not access or modernisation; it is about dealing with the fire risk that exists in the basement of this building. If that is dealt with and it is stripped back to that, the costs and timescales are dramatically reduced and the options of the northern estate become viable. There are alternatives where we can stay on this site, but it needs a little more imagination and the costs have to be dramatically cut back.

[Lord True (Con)]

As a Member of your Lordships’ House, my noble friend obviously makes an important point. As I have said more than once at this Dispatch Box, the questions of the future of the R&R programme and any decant location are decisions for Parliament. I have indicated that I understand that the commissions are currently seeking to have debates in both Houses, so your Lordships will be able to express further opinions before the Summer Recess.

Trade Agreements

Lord Udny-Lister Excerpts

Thursday 15th July 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Frost (Con)]

My Lords, this is a matter for my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Trade rather than for me. There are, of course, procedures under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act, which sets out how such treaties will be considered by Parliament; I think that is the intention. Obviously we welcome the fullest possible debate on the contents of that treaty.

[Lord Udny-Lister (Con)]

The Minister had to sit through some very difficult negotiations and, some would say, a lot of attempted bullying by the EU. Can he confirm that any trade agreements are for the benefit of the UK and will avoid alignment where it is not to our benefit, and that enormous benefits will flow in the course of time from the trade extensions and the deal with Japan, the deal with Australia and now the potential deal with the CPTPP, which begins to be tantalisingly close? Can he assure the House that he will be looking at them and the benefits and not listening to the EU?

[Lord Frost (Con)]

My Lords, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Trade is obviously responsible for most of those negotiations. I am in 100% agreement with her that they offer huge opportunities for this country. The ability to trade freely with a larger number of countries around the world, while setting our own rules in a way that suits us and this economy, will be of huge benefit to us in years to come and we are all looking forward to that.