The Business and Trade Committee Chair, , has warned the Government it
must stop dodging scrutiny of flagship trade deals. The warning
follows publication of the Government’s response to the
Committee’s report on UK accession to the 11-country
Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific
Partnership (CPTPP).
The cross-party committee’s
report called on the Government to allow a debate and vote in
the Commons during the brief statutory period when the House has
the power under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act to
delay ratification of the agreement. MPs on the Committee argued
that joining CPTPP raises contentious issues that the Commons
must be allowed to debate.
However, the Government failed to allow a debate. In its
response, it claims parliamentarians have already had the chance
to debate CPTPP accession. However, Committee Chair observed that the Commons has
not had the opportunity to debate all 30 chapters of CPTPP, along
with the numerous side documents regarding UK accession.
The MPs noted that Trade Secretary had distanced herself from
her own officials’ figures on the economic benefits of joining
CPTPP. The Committee recommended that her Department conduct a
new assessment of the gains from doing so, but the response says
this will not be done. Also, the Government does not say what it
will do to involve an independent body in assessing the impact of
trade agreements – despite the minister having told the Committee
she wanted to avoid “us marking our own homework”.
Committee Chair said:
“This is not no longer merely an era of change. This is a change
of era as we shift from a world of free trade to new world of
trusted trade where new questions of economic security are at the
top of the agenda, alongside old questions of economic growth.
This emerging world is full of new dilemmas and trade-offs as now
weigh the prizes of trade growth against the potential price of
new risks to our security. That is why MPs must be allowed to
debate all those issues in the round and come to a balanced
overall judgment.”
“With CPTPP, MPs have been denied this opportunity –
at the same time the Government has apparently cast aside its own
analysis of the treaty’s benefits. So, should
we just believe it’s right for the UK because
the Government told us so?”
“We can only conclude that ministers are dodging
full and proper scrutiny. Ministers claim they
could not find the time but Parliament is sitting for the
shortest sessions in years. I’m afraid the whole episode is
conclusive proof that the way Parliament scrutinise trade
treaties is no longer fit for purpose in this new
age.”
Notes to Editors:
