UK-India: Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle Excerpts

Wednesday 4th March 2026 Grand Committee

[Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP)]

My Lords, I thank the noble and learned Lord, Lord Goldsmith, and the committee for all their important work on this free trade deal. I echo the comments of both the noble Lords, Lord Hannay and Lord Frost, in expressing concern about the serious democratic deficit of the extremely limited scrutiny the UK Parliament has over trade matters, in contrast to the European Parliament, of course. It is one of the many losses of Brexit.

However, I respectfully disagree with the noble Lord, Lord Hannay, about the EU-Mercosur deal. That is not something we should want to copy. As the European Greens have highlighted, it raises grave concerns about food safety, food quality and animal welfare standards, and the likelihood of contributing further to deforestation, which the world and its climate cannot afford.

However, I agree with the approach taken in this debate by the noble Baroness, Lady Gill, in particular, who sees this trade deal as part of a much broader aspect of our relationship with India, which is crucially important. We are two of the middle powers that, in the model set out by Mark Carney in Davos, need to work together with other compatriots and smaller states to seek to stabilise a world in which the larger powers present a major threat to the security of us all.

Long-term strategic connections depend on economic and cultural ties and on our state’s capacity, in the UK, to co-ordinate internally between all arms of government. This means careful consideration of the treatment of Indian migrants to and residents of the UK, particularly in the context of the continuing hostile environment at the Home Office, which impacts so heavily on so many people. That feeds into, and is apparently fed by, the far-right political forces that are at play in our society, which are far too often funded and supported by external actors.

Building on that relationship means appearing to be a good partner not just to the Indian Government or even to major Indian economic actors but to the Indian people. That demands a recognition of the disastrous history of the British Empire in India—domination, forced starvation and abuse. It means acknowledging what the Indian people bring to the table in historic skills and traditional knowledge, and the enormous capacity of today’s young and educated population. I declare my membership of the APPG on Indian Traditional Sciences. Enabling the UK to be regarded as a constructive force demands acknowledging the past and building new foundations.

The Green Party brings a different view of trade from that of most of the other speakers in this Room. Our desire is for fair trade rather than a focus on free trade, for which so many have suffered while a few have benefited. It means trade that makes sense in terms of mutual benefit and minimal damage. I am afraid I very much disagree with the noble Lord, Lord Johnson. Trade should prioritise environmental sustainability, social justice and building strong, local, resilient communities, both here in the UK and in India, where that should be supported.

I have spoken before about food and animal welfare standards in relation to Mercosur. I have concerns about this deal on that basis, but I also want to stress that it is not just this deal; I expressed exactly the same concerns about the Australia trade deal, and I have very grave concerns about any US trade deal in that context.

Regarding the relationship with the Indian people and what our trade with them might do for the whole of Indian society, it is interesting to look at the Indian fashion industry, where this could be a real positive. In recent years, clothing exports from India have declined sharply as well-known fashion brands have moved production to places such as Morocco and Turkey, simply because of cost. India’s internal migrant workers have been particularly hard hit, often waiting outside factories for days for the chance of a single shift of work. It might appear that steadier employment and a more competitive sector are positive outcomes, but we have to acknowledge that the nature of this deal shapes the nature of the Indian labour market. Whether we are talking about denim mills in Karnataka or knitwear and spinning hubs in Tamil Nadu, the reality of the fashion industry in India is one of low wages and limited job security. With many of the workers being women, we are also talking about situations of gender-based violence, harassment and unsafe working conditions.

We have to ask: what is this deal doing? I have to acknowledge that there are positives in the deal. There are commitments, and there is a whole chapter on this issue, but it is there on paper as guidance, not as commitments. There is a familiar gap between commitments to decent work on paper and what really exists on the factory floors. I would appreciate a response from the Minister about how the Government will ensure that what is in the deal will be transferred to real action on the ground.

Looking briefly at that chapter, I draw on an interesting report from ODI Global, which I strongly recommend to noble Lords if they have not seen it. I do not have time to go into it here, but it looks at the issues of systematic barriers to women’s participation in trade. It acknowledges, as does chapter 23 of the deal, the diverse roles that women play in trade as workers, business owners and entrepreneurs. But the report suggests that the deal does not sufficiently recognise the differential impact of trade on women, not just as consumers of traded goods and services but as participants in local, national, regional and global supply chains.

The trade deal simply does not contain the mechanisms to do this. It mandates the establishment of a trade and gender equality working group and it creates a monitoring and evaluation system, but it is not strong enough. The words are there on paper, but we do not see a guarantee of delivery. There will be a joint committee overseeing the working group, but there is no specification of female membership of it. Will the Government ensure that we do not see a committee of men advising on women’s involvement in trade? I would love to hear something very firm on that. As for data analysis, data collection and research analysis, this is an area where the deal could be world-leading if it is delivered.

I said that we have to think about our relationship with the people of India. This has to be a deal that sets a foundation for a new kind of relationship, which means that it needs trade relationships and diplomatic relationships that are different to those of the past.