Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership

Debate between Craig Williams and Emily Thornberry

Thursday 24th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Emily Thornberry]

I hear what the hon. Gentleman says, but it is palpable nonsense. We can have whatever standards we want in our own country, but if we are allowing those standards to be undermined by cheap imports that are made to different standards, we are essentially saying to our producers or our farmers, “You can keep our standards and you can go out of business.” Frankly, every other country in the world negotiates trade agreements in the interests of that country, but at the moment this country seems to be negotiating trade agreements in order to prove a political point, and that political point is that Brexit works. Frankly, I think that we should be putting our country’s interests first and foremost, rather than petty point-scoring. This is very dangerous behaviour.

[Craig Williams (Montgomeryshire) (Con)]

Will the right hon. Lady give way on the petty point-scoring point?

[Emily Thornberry]

The hon. Gentleman is an expert at it, and I will of course give way.

[Craig Williams]

I defer to the right hon. Lady’s knowledge of that. May I ask her directly whether she will go further, beyond the petty point-scoring, and tell us whether the Labour party supports joining this partnership or not?

[Emily Thornberry]

I will of course get to that in the later part of my speech and I hope that the hon. Gentleman listens carefully.