Oral Answers to Questions

Christine Jardine Excerpts

Thursday 29th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

4. If he will take steps to facilitate parliamentary scrutiny of future trade agreements.

[The Minister for Trade Policy (Greg Hands)]

The Government believe strongly that Parliament has a vital role to play in the scrutiny of future free trade agreements, as it always has in the past. The Government are currently in the process of designing our future trade agreement policy. No decisions have yet been taken, as stakeholder consultations are ongoing.

[Christine Jardine]

When there is a new EU trade treaty, the European Scrutiny Committee can review it and the European Parliament can veto it; when there is a new UK treaty, all this House can do is delay its ratification by 21 days. Far from taking back control, does the Minister agree with the Commons Library that post-Brexit Britain

“may be seen as diminishing democratic accountability in relation to trade treaties”?

Will he fix that by supporting the inclusion of new clause 3 in the Trade Bill?

[Greg Hands]

I will take no lessons from the Liberal Democrats in this regard. The hon. Lady voted against the Second Reading of the Trade Bill, which will allow this country to transition its 40 or more existing EU trade agreements into UK law. Those agreements have already been scrutinised in Parliament. As I say, future trade agreements will be a matter for future proposals.