State Pensions: Canada Free Trade Agreement
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Viscount Waverley(1 year, 2 months ago)
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Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
I can reassure my noble friend that I have received my own letter: actually, it happened to be today, because we have been away. I am already on it and I will certainly be replying to it. I shall be passing it to my officials and making sure that there is a response, and I will certainly make sure that my noble friend is copied in.
Viscount Waverley (CB)
My Lords, can the Minister help me understand why pension arrangements have anything to do with free trade agreements?
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
If I have not said it before, I assure the noble Viscount that actually the two are separate: social security arrangements linking to pensions are separate from free trade agreements. I think I alluded to that in one of my answers, but let me make it completely clear.
Trading Relations: USA, EU and China
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Viscount Waverley
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
The noble Lord makes a good point. The Government are committed to tackling Uighur forced labour in our supply chains and are taking robust action. Over the past year, we have introduced new guidance on the risks of doing business in Xinjiang, introduced enhanced export controls and announced the introduction of financial penalties under the Modern Slavery Act. These followed the Government’s announcement in September 2020 of an ambitious package of changes to the Modern Slavery Act.
Viscount Waverley (CB)
My Lords, will easing border formalities be in the sights of the Government? They serve as a major barrier to trade, particularly in relation to the European Union. While the sentiment behind the Question is clearly understood, does the Minister equally recognise that emerging markets present great opportunities for British companies and government? What strategy is there to persevere with those opportunities?
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
I mentioned earlier a number of countries that we are actively in discussion with. However, we also have 32 hard-working trade envoys covering even more countries. Now that we are outside the EU, our aim is to reach out wherever we can. We cannot do it all at the same time but, wherever and whenever we can, we aim to agree deals with as many countries as we can that are in our best interests.
Australia Free Trade Agreement
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Viscount Waverley
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
I would like to park that—I am not going to be drawn into it—but I would like to move on to discuss scrutiny, which is probably along the lines of the noble Lord’s question. This is an important matter, raised by the noble Viscount, Lord Waverley, and the noble Lords, Lord Purvis and Lord McNicol. Again, I hope I can give some reassurance on this.
The Government have made extensive commitments to support robust scrutiny of the new free trade agreements. As the International Agreements Committee acknowledged in its report, we have upheld those commitments. In particular, the Government committed that we would ensure that there would be at least three months for Parliament to scrutinise the agreement and for Select Committees to produce reports before the formal scrutiny period under CRaG. In fact, there was six months of scrutiny time prior to commencing CRaG, and I was very pleased to receive the IAC’s report on 23 June. In addition, we published the advice of the Trade and Agriculture Commission on 13 April, two months before commencing CRaG, and our own Section 42 report on the impact of the agreement on relevant domestic regulatory standards on 6 June. Of course, I am delighted that we are here today taking the opportunity to debate the agreement as part of that scrutiny process. In total, by the end of the CRaG period, the agreement will have been under the scrutiny of Parliament for over seven months and benefited from the formal views of three Select Committees.
Viscount Waverley (CB)
Might the Minister consider the possibility that there could be two new policy decision-making approaches in play here, coincidentally at broadly the same time, with a new Conservative policy circumstance and a new Government in Australia? Is there any possibility that the period being discussed might take into account any policy changes, which should be included in the final draft?
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
The noble Viscount makes a good point, and I shall certainly take that back. I shall make one or two points about the new Australian Government in my remarks.
I should also like to address the point raised by the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, about extending CRaG in this respect—again, I would like to row back on what he was saying. He asked whether we would extend; this of course is a decision not for me but for the Secretary of State for International Trade. However, we are confident that the arrangements that we have put in place for scrutiny are robust. The agreement has been under scrutiny for over six months now and benefited from three very valuable reports from parliamentary Select Committees, including the International Agreements Committee in this House.
Travel Disruption at UK Airports and Ferry Ports
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Viscount Waverley(2 years, 6 months ago)
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Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
My Lords, I am sorry to interrupt, but the noble Viscount, Lord Stansgate, is next.
House of Lords: Politically Exposed Persons
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Viscount Waverley
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
To be upfront about it, the Treasury is responsible for the money laundering regulations but the regulations are not prescriptive in setting out how firms should carry out customer due diligence. Instead, they require firms to take a proportionate approach commensurate with their assessment of the risk. As I said earlier, clearly there is more work to be done. Customer due diligence allows firms to obtain reasonable satisfactions that customers are who they say they are and that there are no legal barriers, but clearly there is more work to be done on PEPs.
Viscount Waverley (CB)
My Lords, for curiosity’s sake, is this a UK-wide catch-all? Are Nigerian politicians, for example, with bank accounts in the UK deemed to be politically exposed persons under this arrangement? Many in your Lordships’ House, if not all, appear to be caught up in this classification. Will the Minister kindly accept that the banks are looking for one thing but are not receiving it—the necessary clarity and guidance and, by the by, urgent regulatory reform? Is the FCA at fault? If not, who controls the regulator?
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
Of course, what we are talking about today is the behaviour of banks and firms and the proportionate nature of what they should be doing. I say in response to the question from the noble Viscount that the UK remains and must remain at the forefront of international anti-money laundering standards. We have played a leading role in tackling corruption and illicit finance internationally. This is evidenced by the fact that our regime was found to be the strongest out of almost 100 countries. But the other side of the coin is customers, and clearly a more proportionate standard needs to be taken.
Free Trade Agreement: New Zealand
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Viscount Waverley
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
Those are two very specific questions. My noble friend is right that, at the end of the day, this proposed deal—the agreement in principle—represents two staunch democracies working together to meet global challenges, from climate change to the future of digital trade. There is a symbiotic relationship in embracing the opportunities of the global marketplace, with both countries supporting jobs, enterprise and wealth creation.
I will certainly have to write to my noble friend on AMR. On her first question on trade, she is absolutely right, and I am sure the farming community would agree as well, that efficiency is an important part of ensuring that community and farming organisations are fit for purpose to be better able to export to places such as New Zealand. I know that there are vehicles for that and I will certainly be writing to my noble friend to give her the detail, which I suspect will come from my colleagues in Defra.
Viscount Waverley (CB)
My Lords, I find much good material in this Statement. Is it an FTA template for the future? I also recognise the concerns of some who have spoken this evening. There was reference to the CPTPP. I hope that New Zealand will enhance our application to join that club. Perhaps that message should be put through to the powers that be in New Zealand. On tariff removals, attention is drawn to the vital area of digital trade, with specific reference to being able to
“deepen access for our … tech … companies”.
That was music to my ears. However, to take the point of the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter, on bringing the ratification process before Parliament, with respect to the Minister, the Government have a patchy record in this regard, if I can put it that way. The whole process would be enhanced if the Minister would go back and just jolly it along.
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
I thank the noble Viscount for his questions. He mentioned the CPTPP—I know it is quite difficult to say—which is an important part of this. I say again that we are very excited about it, with the possibility that it takes us a step further towards our accession. There is much work to do before we are allowed in, I am sure, but joining will mean more opportunities for British exports to those high-growth markets. We must remember that there is already a Japan deal and one with Mexico, and we now have the AIP with Australia and New Zealand. We are inching our way towards it and I appreciate the noble Viscount’s point.
On the deal itself, I am not sure whether “template” is the right word. I am certain that when one starts off with a proposed deal, there are some basic requirements. However, as I said earlier, this is a comprehensive agreement in principle. It is also the result of a lot of hard work from working groups. I suspect that the template may still be there, but this is a specific deal with New Zealand.
Northern Ireland: Paramilitary Groups
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Viscount Waverley
Viscount Younger of Leckie
My Lords, these are complex issues, which demand a long-term, thoughtful approach. The UK and Irish Governments, and each of the parties in the Northern Ireland Executive, including Sinn Féin, made a clear commitment to tackle paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland in the New Decade, New Approach agreement. The paramilitary crime task force has also reported a number of successful investigations into and disruptions of the activities of republican paramilitary groups.
Viscount Waverley (CB) [V]
My Lords, it would be foolhardy not to recognise and be sensitive to the many current challenges of Northern Ireland. Are the Government open to think afresh or amend any policy, possibly in consultation with Brussels and Dublin, to ensure that a peaceful environment in Northern Ireland continues to be built upon, with hope and well-being? While I concur that intimidation should be taken seriously and that democracies should never yield to these threats, which will lead nowhere, what advice is special security offering, and which terrorist group or groups are threatening politicians and journalism?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
The noble Viscount makes a good point, which is that all parties must continue to work together. The Secretary of State and the Northern Ireland Executive are working very hard with them to achieve what he sets out: namely, a permanent, long-lasting peace. There is absolutely no place in any society for threats or violence, and certainly not in Northern Ireland.
UK-US Trade Deal Negotiating Objectives
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Viscount Waverley
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I am sure the whole House will agree when I say that trade barriers and tariffs are a disincentive to business and that we do not want them. We realise that some are now trading under WTO terms, but the whole point of negotiating with the US, and in particular with the EU, is to get to a point where we lower those barriers. That will obviously be good for businesses and jobs. On the point that I think the noble Lord was making, as I said earlier, we have for some time been prepared to negotiate with the EU at the same time as negotiating with the US. We have the people, the working groups and preparations in place. I see the two working very well in tandem. The linkages that will be made between my department—the Department for International Trade—No. 10 and other departments will be made for both negotiations.
Viscount Waverley (CB)
My Lords, more generally, could the Minister indicate what timetable the Government are working towards with these trade negotiating rounds, which, together with the EU round, will require face-to-face deliberations? Given Covid-19, are the Government in any way anticipating delay to the transition period to achieve the results they wish?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I am not entirely sure whether the noble Viscount was referring to the EU; obviously this subject is the US. However, I reassure him that, on the US negotiations, I am laying out the last process in informing the House, as my right honourable friend in the other place Liz Truss has informed the Commons, which is to set out this document, which the noble Lord, Lord Kerr, alluded to as being pretty good—“admirable”, I think. I answer the noble Viscount’s question by saying that we therefore fully expect to go pretty quickly into actual negotiations. I was told earlier today that we fully expect to do that by the end of March.