Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Trade Agreements: US, Canada and New Zealand

Thursday 10 June 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 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • UK launched a consultation on an improved trade agreement with Canada.
  • UK is in the final stages of an FTA with New Zealand.
  • UK is working on a gold-standard agreement to deepen economic ties with New Zealand.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Philip Hollobone Con
Business & Trade
Context

The MP is inquiring about the progress of free trade negotiations with key international partners post-Brexit.

Question

What progress has been made on negotiating free trade agreements with the US, Canada and New Zealand?

Answer from Elizabeth Truss

We are making significant progress with our free trade agreement negotiations. We have just launched a consultation on the new, improved trade agreement with Canada, we are in the final stages of our FTA with New Zealand, and we are in the midst of resolving the Airbus-Boeing dispute with the US.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer provided general progress updates but did not specify exact timelines or detailed commitments for each country mentioned.

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Q2 Philip Hollobone Con
Business & Trade
Context

The MP is questioning the differential market access between EU and New Zealand post-Brexit, highlighting concerns about the fairness of this arrangement.

Question

Does my right hon. Friend think it is right that the EU should have greater access to the UK market than our friends in New Zealand?

Answer from Elizabeth Truss

Next week we have the New Zealand Trade Minister, Damien O'Connor, coming to the UK, and we are working on a gold-standard agreement that will give us more access to Pacific markets at the same time as further deepening our economic relationship with a long-standing and trusted partner.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer provided future plans but did not address whether current market access is justified or not.

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Q3 Angus MacNeil SNP
Northern Ireland Brexit Business & Trade
Context

The MP is questioning the lack of progress on a Swiss-style SPS agreement, which could address several key issues including trade disputes and farming protection.

Question

Happy birthday from Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Mr Speaker. The point of trade deals is economic growth, but as the Secretary of State well knows, the trade deals with the US, Canada and New Zealand will make up only about 4% of the Brexit damage. However, signing a Swiss-style sanitary and phytosanitary agreement could achieve greater economic growth, would not threaten farming as the Australian trade deal does, would sort out the Northern Ireland protocol sausage situation and would prevent the Prime Minister from getting spoken to like a naughty schoolboy by the President of the United States. Given those four advantages, has she considered lifting her pen and signing a Swiss-style SPS agreement to make things a whole lot better on a number of fronts?

Answer from Elizabeth Truss

My colleague Lord Frost is clear that we need to see pragmatism from the EU to resolve this issue. The hon. Gentleman does not seem to acknowledge that the parts of the world where we are striking deals, whether Asia-Pacific with the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership or countries such as India and those in the Gulf, are the fast-growing parts of the world. He is living in a static past; we are living in a dynamic future.

Not addressed: The answer shifted focus to other trade deals without addressing whether consideration was being given to an SPS agreement.

How: Shifting Focus, Comparing With Other Deals

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