Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of current processes for the scrutiny of international trade agreements.

The Government is committed to transparency and will ensure that parliamentarians, UK citizens and businesses have access to the information they need on our trade negotiations.

The Secretary of State laid a statement on 6 February, setting out the Government’s proposed approach to FTAs with priority partners including the USA, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. On 2 March, the Government published its objectives and initial scoping assessment for the proposed US trade deal and the Secretary of State for International Trade made an Oral Statement to Parliament.

Once negotiations are underway the Government will continue to keep Parliament informed via regular updates.

At the end of each negotiation, any free trade agreement treaty will be subject to the robust ratification procedures set out in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRaG) 2010, including the opportunity for Parliament to scrutinise the treaty before it is ratified.