Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for International Trade
Margaret Ferrier
Main Page: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)Department Debates - View all Margaret Ferrier's debates with the Department for International Trade
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny
Margaret Ferrier Excerpts(4 years ago)
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Greg Hands
I can, and can I just say what a brilliant voice for Burnley my hon. Friend has been in this House over the last 11 months? I can confirm that we are working very hard indeed on the remaining continuity agreements, but let us also recognise how far we have come in the agreements that we have already got.
Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind) [V]
Scrambling at the last minute has been a feature throughout the Brexit process, and the UK Government’s approach to trade agreements is no exception. The Minister’s predecessor used to say that the EU trade deal would be the “easiest in human history”, yet that is now a race against time too. Will the Minister launch a full review of the timeline and negotiating strategy for future trade arrangements, so that they are not blighted by the serial incompetence that we have seen over the last four years?
Greg Hands
I think the hon. Lady asked about scrambling at the last minute, but we have done deals with 52 countries that account for £142 billion of bilateral trade. That is a huge amount: 74% of the value of those non-EU countries’ trade before the start of this process. We look forward to further continuity agreements in the coming weeks.