Oral Answers to Questions

Jeff Smith Excerpts

Thursday 3rd September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)]

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

[Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)]

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

[The Minister for Trade Policy (Greg Hands)]

The Government are committed to meeting their ambitious environmental objectives. We are exploring environmental provisions in the design of our free trade agreements to ensure we continue to uphold the UK’s very high environmental standards. The precise details of each individual UK free trade agreement are a matter for the formal negotiations.

[Greg Hands]

I thank the hon. Lady for that question, which I think was very reasonably put, but actually we are doing a huge amount right the way across the board. We guaranteed in our manifesto no compromise on environmental standards in our future free trade agreements. The UK global tariff, which we published earlier this year, goes significantly further than the EU’s common external tariff in making sure that environmental goods are low-tariff or tariff-free. There are 104 tariff lines, including steam turbines, vacuum flasks and thermostats. We are also providing export finance in areas of renewable energy, such as solar energy and wind farms in Taiwan.

[Jeff Smith]

The former Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, said that the major role he played in his country’s trade negotiations was ensuring

“that we weren’t sidetracked by peripheral issues such as… environmental standards”.

Does his potential appointment as a policy adviser to the Board of Trade mean that that is the Government’s new approach? How can the Government reassure us that they do not now regard the environment as a peripheral issue?

[Greg Hands]

The Government’s approach on the environment, and on the environment and trade, is unchanged. No appointments have been confirmed. Personally, I welcome the fact that a former Prime Minister of Australia is willing to help this country out. I think we should welcome his interest and welcome the endeavours he has the potential to make for this country on behalf of us all.