Prior to negotiationscommencing we will publish and lay before Parliament our Outline Approach to each proposed negotiation. This will include the scope of the agreement and our negotiating objectives and be accompanied by a scoping assessment providing an economic analysis of the proposed trade agreement. •During negotiationswe will publish and lay before Parliament a Round Report following each substantive round of negotiations. This will provide an outline of talks by policy area. We will also publish an Annual TradeReport covering progress across the full programme of negotiations. •At the end of negotiationswe will lay the full treaty text before Parliament and publish an Explanatory Memorandum. We will also publish a full Impact Assessment.

8publish an annual report on trade negotiations in a similar model to that of the United States.

This long-standing constitutional framework was recently reviewed, including through a public consultation, and confirmed by Parliament when CRaG was passed in 2010

Free trade agreements cannot of themselves change domestic law. Until we know the content of a proposed FTA, we cannot say exactly which implementing measures will be required. However, in practice a comprehensive and deep new FTA mayrequire a combination of legislationas well as some non-statutory measures, for instance dialogue betweenregulators. It is the practice of the UK Government always to implement treaties before ratification. Changes to secondary legislation would be made in the usual way. If changes to primary legislation are necessary, we will bring forward a bespoke Bill for the FTA. For each new FTA there will therefore be an opportunity to scrutinise all the legislative changes necessary to implement it before the FTA is ratified.

Today’s debate honours the Government’s commitment that was made back in the summer to hold a debate on these future trade agreements, but it does not provide for the much-needed debate on the Government’s outline approach on an amendable, substantive motion, as proposed by the International Trade Committee in our report on trade policy transparency and scrutiny, which is disappointing.

My Committee also recommended that devolved Governments should be consulted on this, as Canada and other countries tend to do.

the Committee published a report in December titled, “UK trade policy transparency and scrutiny,” which made a host of recommendations on Parliament’s role in future free trade agreements. One recommendation is that Parliament should have an opportunity to debate the Government’s negotiating mandate, or “outline approach” to use the terminology that the Department for International Trade favours, on a substantive motion before negotiations begin on the free trade agreements. I think negotiators would find it useful to have such a steer on the will of Parliament as to what they should progress in any negotiation

What steps will the Minister take to address the serious public concerns raised in the consultation? Will there be a further consultation based on the negotiating objectives accompanied by impact assessments? Will this consultation be a model for future consultations on other trade deals?

Current procedures are such that this could be the only opportunity MPs have to debate four major trade deals. That would be woefully inadequate. General debates unaccompanied by objectives, strategies or impact assessments, and lacking a vote or the possibility of tabling amendments, do not provide adequate scrutiny ​and could lead to trade deals being signed that are bad for the UK, contain controversial provisions, or do not have public support. Is this, in effect, the debate on the mandate for these trade deals, or will other debates follow? If they will, how will they be conducted? Will there be a public set of negotiating objectives and comprehensive impact assessments?

we demand a formal, statutory input to trade deals, including the ones being discussed today, at every stage of every trade deal, from setting the mandate for negotiations right through to implementation.

That is why my party has repeatedly called for a proper consultation structure that would require the formal engagement with affected stakeholders, civil society, trade unions and the devolved nations.Such a process must also ensure that Parliament has a role in the approval of mandates, impact assessments and reviews of trade agreements. The Government voted down every amendment to the Trade Bill to that effect. We have also been clear that consultation alone is not enough. A comprehensive, independent sustainability impact assessment needs to be conducted in advance of the launch of new trade and investment negotiations to establish the potential social, economic and environmental consequences for all sectors and regions of the UK.​

The Secretary of State has established a number of trade working groups, including with Australia in 2016, New Zealand in 2017, and the US in July 2017. To date, we have precisely no information about what has been discussed in those working groups, what progress has been made towards a future trade agreement with those nations, what assurances have been sought and concessions agreed, or what representations have been made on those issues.

The Government are committed to the established principle that Parliament must be able to scrutinise trade agreements at the beginning, throughout and at the end of negotiations. We must have a mechanism that balances real and meaningful scrutiny with the need to maintain the greatest possible security for sensitive negotiating positions and potentially market-sensitive data. I am grateful to Members on both sides of the House for their encouragement and the private conversations that we have been able to have on this issue. The Government are considering how best to balance these elements and I will bring forward further proposals very shortly, not least because we need this for the Trade Bill to make progress on Report in the other place. We will of course take account of views expressed on the subject in this debate

To further that agenda, we will also be exploring how those values should be reflected in the design and provisions of future trade and investment agreements. We are absolutely clear in our policy that any future deals must ensure high food safety, animal welfare standards and environmental protections and maintain our excellent labour standards. The Government are committed to ensuring that this House and people across the country will have the opportunity to scrutinise such commitments in any future free trade agreements—a subject on which I will elaborate later.

one of the issues that I want to see built into real-time parliamentary scrutiny of our trade agreements so that the House can determine whether the values represented by the United Kingdom are reflected in those agreements.

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