Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Douglas Alexander and Calum Miller

Thursday 12th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Calum Miller (Bicester and Woodstock) (LD)]

T3. Farmers in my constituency maintain the highest animal welfare standards. They want reassurance that those will not be undercut by any future UK-US trade deal as they were by some of the deals done by the previous Government. Will the Minister assure me that the mandate and the detail of a trade deal will come to the House before the Government sign it, as many Members on the Government Front Bench agreed when they were in opposition? If not, why not?

[The Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security (Mr Douglas Alexander)]

There is an established process in taking forward the Government’s discussions in relation to the mandate. On animal welfare standards, the Secretary of State has already alluded to how there was clearly considerable divergence during the previous attempts to conclude a free trade agreement with the United States. I assure the House that we as a new Government continue to take issues of animal welfare extremely seriously.