Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: My Lords, the British Government take their responsibilities under agreements very seriously. Sometimes, special circumstances arise where they have to take a view on the matters in the agreement, but I assure the noble Lord that we will adhere strictly to any free trade agreement that we sign.
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: My Lords, the UK will ensure that any future accession talks with the CPTPP are consistent with the UK’s interests and the Government’s stated policies and priorities. We will not make changes to our intellectual property regime that are in any way detrimental to ourselves.
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: My Lords, the Government are very keen to reach agreement with the European Union because of the importance that the noble Lord refers to; we are still working very hard on that. We have plenty of other trading partners around the world. If that agreement is not reached, we will trade on WTO terms with the EU. I think that there will be a bright future for this country in any event.
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: I thank my noble friend for her question. Of course, we will accede to the CPTPP only if we are happy that the arrangements we are acceding to are in the UK’s interest. We are confident that we will be able to reach that position with its members.
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: My Lords, in the recent agreement in principle with Japan that we were so pleased to reach, there is an extensive data and digital services chapter that we hope will be a model for our future free trade agreements. The points made by the noble Baroness are important and are always in our mind when we negotiate these agreements.
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: My Lords, the UK will ensure that any future accession talks with the CPTPP are consistent with our interests and our stated policies and priorities. We are clear that our future investment policy will continue to protect our right to regulate in the public interest and we will ensure that UK investors abroad receive the same high standard of treatment that foreign investors receive in the...
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: My Lords, because we have not entered into negotiations on this agreement yet, it is hard to predict exactly how they will progress, but we are clear that more trade will not compromise our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards.
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: My Lords, the CPTPP is one of the largest free trade areas in the world. It represented 13% of global GDP in 2018, which would increase to more than 16% if the UK were to join. It is one of the world’s premier growth interests and we consider that it is very much in the interests of the United Kingdom to be part of it.
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: My Lords, I am not familiar with my noble friend’s reference, but I will certainly look that strategy up and consider it in our future efforts in this area.
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: The Department for International Trade (DIT) has not had discussions about establishing a trading bloc with Canada, Australia or New Zealand. However, we are committed to negotiating and securing ambitious free trade deals with Australia and New Zealand as soon as possible, harnessing the opportunity to negotiate a high-quality agreement with like-minded, liberal trading nations. Similarly,...
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: HM Government have serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang, with credible reports of the use of forced labour. It has always been the case that, where we have concerns, we raise them, as we did on this issue at the UN Human Rights Council in March. We will continue to monitor the situation closely. HM Government is committed to eliminating modern slavery. The Modern...
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: Pursuing potential accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a priority for the HM Government and is a key part of our trade negotiations programme. We have engaged with all eleven member countries, at both ministerial and official level. Most recently, on 9th September 2020, my Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International...
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: Department for International Trade Ministers and officials have been engaging regularly with Devolved Administration Ministers and officials on the Trade Bill to seek consent from all the devolved legislatures. We have made a number of amendments and commitments to address their concerns. I am pleased that, as a result of this, Scottish Government have recommended consent to all the relevant...
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: While the detail of free trade agreements (FTAs) are reserved for formal negotiations, the United Kingdom has publicly committed to negotiating agreements that protect and maintain our high standards on labour and environment. HM Government has been consistently clear in our published outline approaches to FTAs with the US, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia that we will seek strong provisions...
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: On 21st December 2018, the United Kingdom opened a process under Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade to negotiate tariff rate quotas, as we work to certify our World Trade Organisation goods schedule. The quotas cover a range of agricultural and non-agricultural goods as listed in our draft goods schedule. Changes to the quotas are possible as a result of those...
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: The Strategic Trade Advisory Group (STAG) has recently been through a review and my Department will shortly announce its new membership.
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: The UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement locks in the benefits of the EU-Japan deal, and goes even further in a number of areas, including; Cutting-edge digital & data provisions, Improved market access for UK financial services, More generous rules of origin provisions for some goods, and Opening the door for more British products to be protected in Japan by geographical...
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: HM Government has a strong history of promoting our values globally. While our approach to agreements will vary between partners, our strong economic relationships allow us to have open discussions on a range of difficult issues, including rights and responsibilities.
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: I thank my noble friend for her generous comments. I know that she is a great expert on Japan so it is particularly welcome that those comments came from her. She is of course right that we see this agreement as a gateway to the trans-Pacific partnership. Some 90% of global growth comes from beyond the EU, so both Japan and the wider Pacific region are vital for Britain’s future economy. We...
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: I thank the noble Lord for his comments. To answer the second part of his question, there is an obligation on the Department for International Trade to ensure that the benefits of these agreements—in due course, when they are signed and ratified—are well known throughout the UK. For example, the Japan agreement has huge benefits to our SMEs, which are the backbone of our economy. To put...