Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Business and Trade
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
Main Page: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)Department Debates - View all Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi's debates with the Department for Business and Trade
Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi Excerpts(1 year, 5 months ago)
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Nigel Huddleston
My hon. Friend makes an important point about the role that small and medium-sized enterprises can play. We are working to encourage even more SMEs to export through export support services and the trade advisers network given the opportunities that this and other deals will present to them. He will be aware that the US is not entering into free trade agreements with anybody at the moment. I have spoken to congressmen and women in the US, and there are mixed views, but many have great enthusiasm for the CPTPP.
Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)
Despite all the Government fanfare, the CPTPP trade deal will contribute merely 0.08% to our country’s GDP over the next decade. Laughably, the Secretary of State is now disputing her own Department’s modelling. As part of the spring Budget, the OBR forecast said that in 2023, due to Government incompetence, the hard Brexit and failure to sign other free-trade deals, UK exports are set to fall by 6.6%. That is a staggering £51 billion hit to our economy. How exactly will the Minister compensate for that loss with respect to the signing of the new CPTPP deal?
Nigel Huddleston
Again, I am so disappointed to hear Opposition Members never missing an opportunity to talk Britain down. CPTPP will benefit every nation and region of the UK, to the tune of billions and billions of pounds—[Interruption.] The hon. Member says that is tiny, but if we put it in his bank account tomorrow, he would probably be quite happy. We are talking about huge amounts of money and lots of jobs right across the United Kingdom. It would be great to see the Opposition support one of these deals, which will benefit their own constituents, at some point.