Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for International Trade
Tony Lloyd
Main Page: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)Department Debates - View all Tony Lloyd's debates with the Department for International Trade
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny
Tony Lloyd Excerpts(4 years ago)
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Greg Hands
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Even in the negotiation of continuity agreements, it is important to ensure that we get the best possible deal for British consumers and British businesses, including those in his Aylesbury constituency.
Tony Lloyd (Rochdale) (Lab) [V]
The Minister glossed over a question raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Brent North (Barry Gardiner) earlier. My hon. Friend made the point that the CRaG procedures were established when the European Union was our main negotiating host and the scrutiny came through that process. Does the Minister accept that public distrust of bad trade agreements and public confidence in trade agreements will be established by parliamentary scrutiny, and will he now re-examine whether these procedures are adequate for a modern trading country such as the United Kingdom?
Greg Hands
As I pointed out earlier, we have we added quite a lot and gone beyond the CRaG process to ensure that Parliament is incredibly well informed. Over the course of this year, we have had many debates and published many documents, impact assessments, economic assessments and now reports on individual trade agreements. Parliament has been kept very well informed. When it comes to public distrust, the data shows that the UK public remain strongly in support of free trade.