Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership

Thursday 15 April 2021 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Joining the CPTPP is seen as a significant opportunity for UK businesses, particularly in financial services and digital sectors.
  • The UK will negotiate within the framework of the CPTPP, aiming to remove unfair barriers for products like beef and lamb in overseas markets.
  • Parliament will have thorough scrutiny of the UK's proposed terms for CPTPP accession, including review by the Trade and Agriculture Commission.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Clive Efford Lab Eltham and Chislehurst
Business & Trade
Context

The MP inquired about the implications of UK's potential accession to CPTPP, focusing on policy assessments.

Question

What recent assessment has she made of the implications for her policies of the UK joining the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership?

Answer from Elizabeth Truss

Joining the CPTPP is a massive opportunity for UK businesses, in particular those in areas such as financial services and digital, where the rules are world-leading. It will also cut tariffs for businesses in vital industries such as cars and whisky and help to drive our exports-led, jobs-led recovery from covid.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific policy implications requested were not addressed.

How: Opportunity For Uk Businesses, Cut Tariffs

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Q2 Clive Efford Lab Eltham and Chislehurst
Brexit Business & Trade
Context

The MP asked about the UK's negotiation rights concerning CPTPP provisions, specifically whether the UK can negotiate exemptions or amendments.

Question

Will the UK have the right to negotiate exemptions from those provisions of the agreement to which we do not wish to accede and amendments to those provisions to which we wish to make improvements?

Answer from Elizabeth Truss

The CPTPP is a very high-standards agreement, and the rules will have huge benefits for the UK. The reality is that UK products such as beef and lamb have been locked out of overseas markets for unfair reasons, so it is in our interests to sign up to a high-standards, good-rules agreement.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The negotiation rights were not directly addressed.

How: High-Standard Agreement, Unfair Reasons

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Q3 Emily Thornberry Lab Islington South and Finsbury
Business & Trade
Context

The MP questioned if Parliament will have ample time to scrutinize CPTPP terms before a vote, similar to other countries.

Question

Can she guarantee that this Parliament will have as much time to scrutinise the proposed terms of accession to CPTPP before a vote on whether or not to approve them as the Australia, Canada and New Zealand Parliaments had before their respective votes?

Answer from Elizabeth Truss

I will be delighted to answer all those questions and more when we publish the public bundle, which will include the scoping assessment and our negotiation objectives. We will also have full parliamentary scrutiny, including by the statutory Trade and Agriculture Commission, in line with parliamentary systems across the world.

Partly answered

Not addressed: No guarantee was given about time for scrutiny.

How: Public Bundle, Full Parliamentary Scrutiny

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