Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for International Trade
Wendy Chamberlain
Main Page: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)Department Debates - View all Wendy Chamberlain's debates with the Department for International Trade
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny
Wendy Chamberlain Excerpts(4 years, 1 month ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Greg Hands
My hon. Friend is right; we can have an esoteric discussion about trade policy, tariffs, quotas, automated tariff quotes and all this kind of stuff, but it must work for our consumers and our businesses. The whole point of doing trade policy is to make sure it boosts UK exports and inward investment in this country, and does good work for UK trade, consumers and businesses in constituencies such as his.
Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)
While the Department for International Trade attempts to strike trade deals, its counterparts in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy are using the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill to expand the powers of the Competition and Markets Authority. There is a growing concern that the Office for the Internal Market could be used to challenge the devolved Administrations by, for instance, American investors with an interest in a trade deal. Can the Minister confirm whether he or the Secretary of State have had any discussions with their foreign counterparts over the role of the expanded CMA and the Office for the Internal Market?
Greg Hands
Of course the whole Government take a common approach to the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill. It is important for our trade partners to know that the UK has a well-functioning and efficient internal market. The measures that have been taken are necessary to protect the integrity of the UK’s internal market, which is extremely important for Scottish businesses, particularly if an agreement with the EU cannot be reached. I commend the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill to the hon. Lady for her further consideration in both Houses of this Parliament.