– in the Scottish Parliament at on 22 December 2016.
Mr Mark Ruskell
Green
2. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to argue the case that Scotland’s concerns are taken into account in relation to the comprehensive economic and trade agreement. (S5O-00510)
Keith Brown
Scottish National Party
The Scottish Government has made clear to the United Kingdom Government and the European Commission that trade agreements must not adversely affect the delivery of public services, lower standards or limit the Government’s right to regulate in the public interest. I wrote to the Secretary of State for International Trade last month re-emphasising that our ability to regulate and to determine how the national health service in Scotland should operate should in no way be compromised by trade agreements. I have not yet received a response.
As the member will know, regulation of international trade is a reserved matter under the Scotland Act 1998 and trade negotiations are led by the European Commission on behalf of the European Union’s 28 member states. The Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament do not therefore have a direct say in, or direct influence on, negotiations or the ratification of any agreement.
Mr Mark Ruskell
Green
The Cabinet secretary will be aware that I have asked over
14 questions now on this topic in recent months. Following the statement to members in the chamber on Tuesday, perhaps we can get some clarity about CETA and the implications for Scotland. If Scotland remained a member of both the UK and the European Economic Area, would it be subject to the conditions of CETA in any future trading with Canada?
Keith Brown
Scottish National Party
The proposal that was made by the First Minister on Scotland’s place in Europe includes a number of questions—for which we have to seek answers—that relate to the interests of other parties. Very senior people who are involved with that process have said to me that, if Scotland were to be represented by the UK in international trade agreements—rather than by the EU as at present—the UK would not have the expertise to properly defend and promote its interests. That is compared with a country such as Canada, which has huge experience and huge numbers of people who have been involved in negotiating trade agreements for many years. That possibility represents a clear and present danger to the interests of Scotland, so we will keep our eye on it.
We want to promote the best possible outcome for Scotland. The optimum outcome would be for us to represent our own interests internationally and to ensure that our interests are served in those discussions.
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