Central America: Trade and Investment

Baroness Anelay of St Johns Excerpts

Monday 19th December 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Con)]

My Lords, I too congratulate my noble friend Lady Hooper on securing this short debate. Her timing is fortuitous in the light of the announcement, made by the Foreign Secretary just last Monday, that the Government will develop stronger relations with increasingly influential countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. I welcome that statement, but the only Latin American country he referenced in his speech was Brazil, and that was simply to support the idea that the UN Security Council might be reformed and make Brazil a permanent member.

I have four questions for my noble friend the Minister. First, what new measures will now be taken to cast a spotlight on Latin American countries in central America with which we have signed an association agreement, of course not forgetting Belize, which is governed by the separate CARIFORUM-UK economic partnership agreement? It was a privilege to meet the members of CARIFORUM when I was a Minister at the FCDO and attended one of its sessions. Additionally, I made ministerial visits to several other countries in central America, primarily in my role as the Prime Minister’s special representative for preventing sexual violence in conflict. I also met representatives of UK companies in business in the region. They impressed upon me how they face significant hurdles when they compete for contracts, which are then often routinely awarded to non-UK businesses that have a record of failing to deliver the kind of quality, timeliness and reliability of work that would have been provided by the UK companies.

Over a year ago, the then CEO of UK Export Finance announced that the UK was entering a new era for trade with central America. So my second question is: can my noble friend the Minister please tell the House what increase in support and advice was given, as a result of that announcement, to UK businesses seeking to secure contracts in central America? What new steps will now be taken to build upon that work? By the way, I notice that UKEF currently has an interim CEO; can my noble friend the Minister inform the House when the Government expect to make a permanent CEO appointment?

My third question ventures into the fields covered by trade commissioners and trade envoys. I would be grateful if my noble friend put on the record the respective roles and lines of accountability for both trade commissioners and trade envoys. The Latin American trade commissioner is based in São Paulo, and his deputy is located in Mexico City. Of course, as my noble friend Lady Hooper mentioned, they also cover the Caribbean region. That is quite a stretch for their enormous amount of work. My noble friend Lady Hooper declared her work, for which she is very highly respected, as trade envoy for Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic. Select Committees of this House would benefit greatly from hearing from such experts as trade envoys.

However, I have to inform the House that, when the International Relations and Defence Committee, which I chair, sought to take evidence from one of the trade envoys to Africa in the course of our inquiry into the UK’s relations with the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, the Government refused permission for them to give evidence. That surprised us, to say the least. We had hoped to benefit from learning about their work and achievements on behalf of the UK. I would therefore be grateful if my noble friend could tell the House whether the Government’s policy of preventing trade envoys giving evidence to the committees of this House has changed. If it has not, will they consider changing it? If my noble friend is not in a position to answer any of my questions tonight, I would be grateful if he wrote to me and gave a copy of the letter to the House.

My final question refers back to comments made by both my noble friend Lady Hooper and the noble Baroness, Lady Coussins, whom I hope I may call a noble friend. Can my noble friend the Minister reassure me that all those who give advice on trade and investment to companies on behalf of the UK Government will bear in mind the human rights records of countries in central America when doing so? Will he reassure me that they are fully informed of the importance of the Ruggie principles?