EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Lord Razzall Excerpts

Friday 8th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Razzall (LD) [V]]

My Lords, sadly I cannot share the congratulatory tone of some colleagues on the Tory Benches regarding the recent trade deal. This deal is bad for jobs, bad for security and bad for our environment. The stark reality is that this is a much better deal for Europe than it is for us, for one fundamental reason which the Brexiteers have never really understood. As the noble Lord, Lord Horam, said, Europe benefits far more than we do from tariff-free trade in manufactured goods and farm products simply because they export far more to us than we do to them. The strength of our economy is much more in financial services, as noble Lords have said, the export of which is hardly left secure on the basis of this deal. But what is done is done and will not be undone in the foreseeable future.

Notwithstanding the Tory claims that they have got Brexit done, a huge amount of negotiation with our European partners remains. I only touch on a handful of issues. First, for manufacturers the biggest headache is the so-called rules of origin. Can the Minister confirm that the Government will now work through the new joint committees established by the deal to ease burdens on businesses wherever possible? Secondly, it is vital that our financial institutions can continue exporting services to Europe. Is the Minister satisfied that a satisfactory mutual understanding with the EU will be reached in March 2021 regarding regulatory equivalence, as provided for in the agreement? Financial services are not simply the product of banks and other financial institutions. The UK exports countless professional services to Europe. The largest, such as solicitors, accountants, architects and engineers, earn significant sums from Europe. All the deal does is provide a mechanism on which regulators can work together to establish mutual recognition of professional qualifications to enable professional services to be sold in Europe. Is the Minister satisfied that mutual recognition will proceed at pace?

As I said, this is a poor deal for the UK. Staying in would have been so much better, but surely the Minister must agree with Theresa May, in her retort to Keir Starmer in another place, that even her deal would have been better.