Oral Answers to Questions

Elizabeth Truss Excerpts

Thursday 18th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con)]

What recent discussions she has had with her Canadian counterpart on a free trade agreement with that country.

[The Secretary of State for International Trade (Elizabeth Truss)]

I spoke to my Canadian counterpart Mary Ng last week, and we talked about progressing our bilateral trade and working together to promote free trade across the world.

[Andrew Percy]

Bilateral trade between the UK and Canada is worth £20 billion a year. It grew exponentially following the implementation of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. In comparison, our bilateral trade with New Zealand is worth £3 billion a year. We have opened formal negotiations with New Zealand on a new trade agreement. Can we not go further with Canada and seek something much more comprehensive than simply a roll-over of CETA?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I know that my hon. Friend is committed to Canada, having served as trade envoy and done a fantastic job. As part of our ambitious free trade agreement programme, we announced yesterday our intention to accede to the CPTPP, which is an advanced trade agreement covering chapters such as data and digital and goes far beyond what the EU has been willing to agree. Canada is one of the key players in the CPTPP, alongside countries such as Australia and New Zealand.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

What discussions she has had with UK trade partners on maintaining environmental protection standards in future free trade agreements.

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[Stewart Hosie (Dundee East) (SNP)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Scottish Land and Estates has said that food and farming is critical, and it is concerned that UK producers are not placed in an impossible situation where they have to compete in an effective “race to the bottom”. What guarantees can the Secretary of State give that cheaply produced agrifood imports will not lead to that race to the bottom?

[Elizabeth Truss]

First, we have the independent Food Standards Agency, which is committed to high food standards. All the food standards that are currently with us through EU law are put into UK law as a result of the withdrawal agreement, so those standards are not going to be lowered, and they are not going to be negotiated as part of any trade agreement.

[Stewart Hosie]

I thank the Secretary of State for her answer, but I did not ask about food quality standards; I understand that. I am asking about production standards. As the National Farmers Union of Scotland has pointed out, there is deep concern about the importation of agrifoods into the UK that may be produced to an inequivalent and uncompetitive standard. How will she guard against agrifood imports produced to that inequivalent standard, which is much cheaper and simply could not or would not be done in the UK?

[Elizabeth Truss]

Scottish beef and lamb is a very high-quality product and highly competitive. When the beef ban is ended with the US, we will have the opportunity to get British beef into the US market—there is £66 million-worth of opportunity for that product—but in every trade agreement I negotiate, I will always make sure that our farmers, with their high standards, are not undermined.

[Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)]

Food standards were not a matter for the Agriculture Bill—at least that is what MPs, including Conservative Back Benchers, were told on Report. They were told that they would be included in the Trade Bill. I am sure agriculture Ministers were telling the truth, so will the Government accept Labour’s amendment to the Trade Bill to enshrine in law the principle that food imported under any free trade agreement must maintain our farming industry’s high production and safety standards?

[Elizabeth Truss]

The reason they were not part of the Agriculture Bill is that the import standards that we already have and which already ensure that we import only high-quality products into this country are being transported into UK law through the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. That is already there. There has been a lot of scaremongering going around about these lowered standards. That is simply not true. We are maintaining exactly the standards we have, which are in place, for example, through agreements with Canada.

[Angus Brendan MacNeil (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP) [V]]

Tapadh leibh, Mr Speaker. We hope to see the Secretary of State at the International Trade Committee next week, as requested by Committee members for a number of weeks. At yesterday’s Committee hearing, the NFU, the CBI and the TUC all coalesced around the figure that Brexit would cost the UK about 4.9% of GDP and an American trade deal would benefit it by around 0.16% of GDP—a thirtieth of what is being lost by Brexit. They said that gains from the Japan deal would be a lot less than the paltry lot from the US deal, so can any Minister furnish the House with the figure for what would be gained as a percentage of GDP from a Japan-UK trade deal?

[Elizabeth Truss]

First of all, I am extremely happy to appear in front of the hon. Gentleman’s Committee, and I will ask my office to immediately set that up in the diary. I am very keen to communicate with the Committee about the various trade deals we are negotiating.

We published figures for the scoping study on the Japan free trade agreement, but this is not an either/or. We want to get a good trade deal with the EU. We want to get a good trade deal with the US. We also want to get access to CPTPP, which is a very fast-growing part of the world. That is what we want. We want global Britain to sit at the heart of a network of free trade agreements.

[Bill Esterson]

In March, the Government said that Japan must show “increased ambition” and set a higher headline target on reducing carbon emissions ahead of COP26. Is that still the view of the Secretary of State? Will she show increased ambition and include more stretching, measurable and binding climate targets in the new free trade agreement she puts in place with Japan?

[Elizabeth Truss]

We have a huge opportunity to achieve our environmental objectives in many of the free trade agreements we are negotiating. For example, with New Zealand, which is a leader in this area, we will be looking for very advanced environmental clauses, and of course we will seek those in negotiations with Japan. But the hon. Gentleman should understand that there are a number of routes through which we are pursuing our objectives, namely our leadership of the COP26 summit, and it is right that that process should be the primary focus of where we achieve our climate change objectives.

[Steve Double (St Austell and Newquay) (Con)]

What assessment she has made of the potential effect of future free trade agreements on the economy in Cornwall.

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[Dr Luke Evans (Bosworth) (Con)]

What steps she is taking to ensure that UK farmers are able to sell their products into global markets under future free trade agreements.

[The Secretary of State for International Trade (Elizabeth Truss)]

We are determined to remove barriers so that more of our fantastic British produce can be sold internationally. We have now become a net dairy exporter for the first time in recent years. A US-UK FTA can reduce tariffs of, for example, 26% on beef and more than 25% on some dairy products.

[Dr Evans [V]]

Some of my constituents in Bosworth have written to me concerned about food standards. What discussions is my right hon. Friend having with DEFRA regarding the Food Standards Agency to guarantee that the agency is fully supported to ensure and enforce that our food standards are up to scratch in our new trade deals as they come to fruition?

[Elizabeth Truss]

It is very important to note that we are not going to be lowering our food standards in any of our trade negotiations. British food standards—or certainly those in England and Wales—are a matter for the Food Standards Agency, and it is down to the agency to ensure that standards are upheld. Those standards are also in UK law, transferred as part of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, so they are guaranteed, and the Food Standards Agency is an independent body designed to ensure that they are upheld.

[Lia Nici (Great Grimsby) (Con)]

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that all parts of the UK benefit from future free trade agreements.

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[Dave Doogan (Angus) (SNP)]

What recent progress she has made on negotiating free trade agreements with (a) the US and (b) Japan.

[The Secretary of State for International Trade (Elizabeth Truss)]

We have launched negotiations with both the US and Japan. We want to secure ambitious trade deals that benefit every part of the United Kingdom. Scotland is expected to be a particularly strong beneficiary from those deals.

[Patricia Gibson]

Despite what the Secretary of State said in response to previous questions, there are persistent concerns about the lifting of the ban on pathogen reduction treatments, which would permit chlorine washes over food as part of future trade deals. That would be bad for us and bad for animal welfare. To address those concerns once and for all, will the Secretary of State commit to enshrining minimum food standards into law? If she will not, will she devolve the necessary powers to Scotland to allow us to do it for ourselves?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I would point out that Scotland has its own food standards agency, which is responsible for upholding food standards in Scotland. I would also point out that the standards already are in the law and will continue to be in the law.

[Dave Doogan [V]]

Given what the Secretary of State—[Inaudible.]

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[James Murray (Ealing North) (Lab/Co-op)]

What progress she has made on negotiations for a free trade agreement with the US.

[The Secretary of State for International Trade (Elizabeth Truss)]

We have just commenced round 2 of trade negotiations with the United States. Talks so far have been positive and constructive, but I am absolutely clear that we will only sign up for a deal that benefits all parts of the UK and all sectors of the UK.

[Kerry McCarthy]

In the absence of any final agreement between Britain and the EU on trading arrangements beyond the end of this year, is it not impossible for the UK and the US to have a meaningful discussion about the extent to which the UK’s regulatory framework can diverge from the EU’s in any future trade deal? Does that not mean that the chances of actually getting a deal with the US done and through Congress before the November election are virtually nil?

[Elizabeth Truss]

Let me be absolutely clear that we have not set a timetable for completion of the negotiations with the United States, because we are concentrating on getting a good deal rather than meeting any particular negotiation timetable. I am afraid that the hon. Lady is absolutely wrong with respect to the EU, because we have been clear that we are not aligned with EU regulations. We have our own independent regulatory regime and we are negotiating with all our trading partners, whether it is the US, Australia, New Zealand or Japan, on that basis.

[James Murray [V]]

The Government have repeatedly promised this House and the British public that they are committed to non-regression on food standards. However, there is great concern over a number of practices in the US that are currently banned in the UK, such as the widespread use of antibiotics to increase growth in animals. As the Government approach their negotiations on a trade deal with the US, does the Secretary of State accept that it is time to put that commitment to non-regression on food standards into law?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I could not have been more clear: these food standards are already in British law as part of the EU withdrawal agreement, and we are not negotiating those as part of our negotiations with the United States or any other trade partner.

[Mr Virendra Sharma (Ealing, Southall) (Lab)]

What steps she is taking to support (a) small businesses and (b) the self-employed to trade internationally as part of the covid-19 recovery.

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[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for International Trade (Elizabeth Truss)]

We have launched trade negotiations with four of our closest partners: the US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand—close allies with shared values, believing in democracy and free enterprise. We are prepared to walk away if any deal is not in the national interest. We will not lower our food standards. They are overseen by the independent Food Standards Agency and are in UK law. Ambitious free trade agreements will deliver on the Brexit promise to drive an industrial revival in this country and level up the UK.

[Kerry McCarthy]

I note the response that the Secretary of State gave to her opposite number earlier when talking about Brazil, but we are still trading with Brazil. Between 2013 and 2019, British financial institutions provided over $2 billion in financial backing to Brazilian beef companies linked to Amazon deforestation. How can we ensure that there is greater transparency in our supply chains so that we are not unwittingly, through exports from Brazil, contributing to such environmental degradation?

[Elizabeth Truss]

First, we are doing a lot of work on our supply chains, looking at vulnerabilities and resilience and making sure we have more transparency in supply chains. That work is being led through the Department for International Trade and Project Defend. Through our climate change negotiations, as we head towards COP26, that is precisely the type of issue that the Business Secretary will be looking at.

[David Simmonds (Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the long-standing agreements between local authorities, sectoral agreements involving UK universities and counterparts abroad, such as the British Israel Research Academic Exchange Partnership, and the many agreements between UK local authorities and regions in, for example, China, can provide a useful foundation and route in for trade deals that are based on existing identified mutual opportunities and interests?

[Emily Thornberry (Islington South and Finsbury) (Lab)]

On Monday in Yemen, 13 civilians travelling by road, including four children, were killed in an alleged Saudi airstrike—the latest innocent victims of this barbaric war. A year ago this week, the Court of Appeal ruled that it is unlawful for the Government to license any more exports of arms to Saudi Arabia for use in the war in Yemen, and ordered the Government to review all extant licences in the light of that judgment. A full year later, can the Secretary of State tell us whether that review of extant licences is complete and, if not, why not?

[Elizabeth Truss]

As the right hon. Lady knows from the written ministerial statement I made earlier this year, we have been reviewing our processes and making sure all the work we do is compliant with the consolidated criteria.

[Emily Thornberry]

I thank the Secretary of State for that answer, but the fact is that, a year on from the Court of Appeal ruling, British firms are still exporting arms for use in Yemen, and that is unacceptable.

On a related issue, the Government refuse point black to tell us whether British-made tear gas and other riot equipment have been used in the United States over the past month. I ask the Secretary of State a very simple but important question that goes alongside that: does she condemn the tear gassing and beating of unarmed, peaceful protesters and journalists, and will she make it clear that riot equipment should never be used in that way?

[Elizabeth Truss]

Of course we are all extremely concerned about what has happened in the US—in particular, the killing of George Floyd. We are very, very concerned about that. However, we have one of the strictest arms licensing regimes in the world and we are absolutely clear—I have made this clear to the team—that we always comply with the consolidated criteria.

[Theo Clarke (Stafford) (Con)]

Given that the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting that was meant to take place next week—I planned to attend it as the co-chair of the all-party group on trade out of poverty—has been postponed, does my right hon. Friend agree that it is vital that the Government continue to back the SheTrades initiative in order to support businesswomen throughout the Commonwealth?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I thank my hon. Friend for her commitment to this important cause. I am convening a meeting of Commonwealth Trade Ministers, due to take place this autumn, and the issue of female empowerment and entrepreneurship and the SheTrades initiative will be on the agenda for the meeting.

[Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)]

Can I ask about Welsh lamb? Every time I ask the Government about this, they always say to me, “Oh yes, it is all very worrying. We don’t know where it is going to go. It is very important that we make sure that there are no tariffs on Welsh lamb going into Europe.” It is important, because 50% of Welsh lamb is eaten in the UK and the rest goes to Europe. It does not go to any other markets, pretty much, around the world, so we have to get a zero tariff on Welsh lamb. Can the Secretary of State guarantee that, please?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I am working very hard to get rid of the small ruminant rule in the United States, which prevents the export of our fantastic Welsh lamb to the market—[Interruption.] I hear the hon. Gentleman shouting from a sedentary position. The US is the second largest importer of lamb in the world. It is a massive opportunity for lamb. In fact, this afternoon, I have a call with some Welsh sheep farmers to talk to them precisely about these opportunities. I suggest that he gets behind the US trade deal rather than shouting from the Back Benches.

[Shaun Bailey (West Bromwich West) (Con)]

Manufacturers in the Black Country have recently shown the resilience and ingenuity that demonstrate why the Black Country is head and shoulders above the rest, in the whole of the United Kingdom. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that manufacturers in the town that I represent—in Wednesbury, Oldbury and Tipton—can increase their exports and we can ensure an industrial renaissance for manufacturers in those towns?

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[Mr Robert Goodwill (Scarborough and Whitby) (Con)]

Does the Minister agree that global free trade agreements present more opportunities than threats to British agriculture, particularly as we have fantastic products such as North Yorkshire lamb and cracking cheeses such as Wensleydale? Indeed, I think they also make cheese in Lancashire, Mr Speaker. Does the Secretary of State agree that there are likely to be more Americans wanting to eat British beef than British people wanting to eat American beef, particularly if accompanied by Yorkshire pudding?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I completely agree about the fantastic products such as Wensleydale, Yorkshire beef and lamb and all these opportunities. In fact, the first cargoes of British beef will be leaving UK ports this summer destined for America, now that the beef ban has been lifted. That is worth £66 million to the industry over the next five years. Of course, there is nothing nicer than a Sunday lunch and a nice bit of beef and Yorkshire pudding.

[Dr Lisa Cameron (East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) (SNP) [V]]

From the continuity agreement, exports to Chile have grown on average by 16% a year and consumers in the UK have benefited from lower prices on fruit, nuts and excellent Chilean wine. As chair of the all-party parliamentary group for Chile, I ask the Secretary of State what further progress will be made to ensure that that trading relationship with Chile goes from strength to strength?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I thank the hon. Lady for her positive question about Chile. Chile is an important trade partner of the UK. Of course, it is a key member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which we want to join. We want to have a better trading relationship with Chile and the 11 fast-growing members of that agreement.

[Duncan Baker (North Norfolk) (Con)]

My rural constituency of North Norfolk is highly agricultural, with farming being the lifeblood of the community, so along with telling me what steps are being taken to ensure that high animal welfare and import standards are kept, can we be positive and can the Secretary of State tell me about the great opportunities that there are for the farming community in North Norfolk to celebrate with a free trade agreement?

[Elizabeth Truss]

As I have said, we are absolutely committed to maintaining our high animal welfare standards and our high import standards and also to making sure that our farmers do not face unfair competition. That is something I am going to negotiate in every trade agreement we are discussing. There are huge opportunities, such as with malting barley. We are the second largest exporter of malting barley into Japan, and there are fantastic malting barley producers all across Norfolk who will benefit from lower tariffs and more trade.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

My constituent Freddie Melville wrote to me last week. He is 10, and when he grows up he wants to be a farmer like his dad. He told me that all animals deserve to be reared to a high standard and that allowing lower standard food into the UK would reduce what his father and other farmers get paid for their food. The Government want a trade deal with the US and want to protect UK farmers and consumers. They cannot have both. If they truly believe in their welfare standards, will the Minister commit to enshrining them in trade legislation, as they should have done with the Agriculture Bill?

[Elizabeth Truss]

If the hon. Lady looks at the analysis of the US agreement, it shows that UK farming benefits. That is because people in the United States want to buy high-quality, high-welfare UK produce.

[Robert Courts (Witney) (Con)]

Will the Secretary of State comment on how well placed the Food Standards Agency is to enforce our high import food standards?

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

The use of bullets, tear gas and batons on innocent protesters has, as the Secretary of State acknowledged, shocked the world in the aftermath of the brutal killing of George Floyd, so can she tell us whether her Department has authorised the export of any of the above in the past 12 months?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I have already answered a letter from the shadow Secretary of State on precisely this issue. Quarterly, we publish exactly which export licences we issue as a Department. We are completely transparent, and we operate in line with the consolidated criteria.

[Sir Roger Gale (North Thanet) (Con) [V]]

It is good to see you again, Mr Speaker. I listened very carefully to the statement yesterday by my right hon. Friend and also to her remarks this morning about animal welfare. She must understand that there is still a concern because of the Government’s refusal to accept the agriculture Committee amendments to the Agriculture Bill. Will she give the House a complete assurance that once we have left the European Union and ended the transition period, no goods—animal products, fish products or bird products—will be allowed into the United Kingdom from the EU or anywhere else in the world where those are reared under conditions that we simply would not permit in the United Kingdom?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I can give my right hon. Friend an absolute assurance that all the regulations we currently have in place with the EU will be transposed into UK law. However, it is not the case that we ask other countries to follow our domestic regulations. We currently import produce from Canada on zero tariffs without those requirements. We currently import goods from the developing world without those requirements. What is very important, and what I am committed to in all the trade negotiations, is making sure that any deal we achieve does not undermine our domestic production standards.

[Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab) [V]]

Complacency from the Government, and indeed from the international community as a whole, over human rights violations in Kashmir has contributed to the crisis that is unfolding at the line of actual control. The Indian and Chinese armies are now toe to toe, and there has been a Mexican stand-off between Pakistan and India since last August. I do not need to remind anybody that these are three nuclear powers. What economic and other levers is the Secretary of State using to resolve this crisis? Will she urge the Prime Minister to call for a UN Security Council meeting to avert a global disaster?