EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Lord Flight Excerpts

Friday 8th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Flight (Con) [V]]

The TCA comprises a detailed and complex agreement, which looks, in the main, to be a fair and sensible deal for both the EU and UK. It reads as though it may have been drafted by members of the Department for International Trade. It comprises seven separate parts, plus a number of annexes and three protocols. Of particular interest are the joint declarations on financial services and regulatory co-operation.

Key aspects of the TCA include tariff-free and quota-free trade in goods, and provisions made for rules of origin that will need to be met for goods to qualify for preferential trade terms. The TCA covers transport, hauliers and air travel, law enforcement co-operation, government structures and ongoing participation in some programmes. It creates a number of government structures to be managed by new partnership councils. It includes level playing field requirements to prevent distortions to trade.

The most important trade co-operation issue is that the UK has a fair deal for financial services—our largest industry. As other noble Lords have pointed out, there is still a lot to be done to negotiate equivalence. It is constructive that the Treasury—with the help of the Bank of England, I am sure—is producing a memo on undertakings. I believe we can complete and polish the deals on financial services, but it will take some time. I close by adding my welcome to my noble friend Lord Wharton.