Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Trade Deals: Environmental Standards

Thursday 2 December 2021 · 6 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 4 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Kate Osamor asked the Minister about recent discussions on inserting clauses on environmental standards into future trade deals, to which the Minister referred to a previous response.
  • Gill Furniss questioned the consistency of the Government's actions with their moral commitment to fight climate change, especially regarding the UK-Australia trade deal.
  • Mike Wood highlighted the UK-Australia agreement as the first time Australia agreed to a specific reference to the Paris agreement in a free trade agreement, noting the importance of trade in encouraging environmental protection standards globally.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Kate Osamor Labour (Co-op) Edmonton and Winchmore Hill
Business & Trade Environment
Context

The question arises from discussions on including environmental clauses in future trade agreements.

Question

What recent discussions she has had with UK trade partners on inserting clauses on environmental standards into future trade deals?

Answer from Ranil Jayawardena

I refer the hon. Members to the reply that I gave a few moments ago.

Not addressed: Details of recent discussions on incorporating environmental standards into future trade deals were not provided.

How: Referred To Previous Answer

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Q2 Gill Furniss Lab Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough
Climate Business & Trade
Context

The Minister claims environmental protection as a priority but the questioner points out that actions do not match words, highlighting the Australia trade deal.

Question

In the Government's desperation for a trade deal with Australia, they agreed to water down limited reference to climate change. How is this consistent with the Government's moral commitment to fight the climate emergency?

Answer from Ranil Jayawardena

I am pleased to reassure the hon. Lady that the environment chapter will break new ground for the United Kingdom. Our agreement in principle includes real commitments to work together more closely on a whole host of areas. The truth is that we are leading the world in the area; we were the first country in the world to legislate for net zero, and we will continue in our endeavours to protect our environment for our children and grandchildren.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The water-down of climate change reference in UK-Australia deal was not addressed specifically.

How: Referred To Broader Environmental Commitments

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Q3 Kate Osamor Labour (Co-op) Edmonton and Winchmore Hill
Climate Foreign Affairs Environment
Context

The question highlights the necessity for considering import impact on carbon emissions to achieve genuine net zero status.

Question

We cannot claim to have reached genuine net zero as a country, or even to have a plan to do so, until we take into account the impact of our imports on global carbon emissions. Will the Department for International Trade therefore agree to consider the evidence gathered by the Environmental Audit Committee in its inquiry into carbon border taxes? Better still, will the Department initiate an inquiry of its own?

Answer from Ranil Jayawardena

Her Majesty's Government welcome input from all parliamentary Committees of this House and will always look closely at all recommendations made, but I would highlight examples of how we are actually delivering on the agenda. We are working with countries such as Brazil and others to support how we reduce the impact of agriculture on the environment, through building new dialogues with agricultural producers and consumers through COP26 and beyond.

Partly answered

Not addressed: No commitment was made regarding considering EAC evidence or initiating an inquiry on carbon border taxes.

How: Highlighting Other Environmental Work

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Q4 Mike Wood Con Kingswinford and South Staffordshire
Foreign Affairs Business & Trade Environment
Context

The question discusses the importance of using trade to encourage environmental standards internationally.

Question

The UK-Australia agreement in principle marked the first time that Australia had ever agreed to a specific reference to the Paris agreement in a free trade agreement. Does my hon. Friend agree that trade is an effective way of encouraging other countries to bring their environmental protection standards up to the high levels of our own?

Answer from Ranil Jayawardena

I commend my hon. Friend for his research. He is absolutely right: this is an important part of our wider diplomacy. Economic diplomacy is crucial to making sure that we spread British values around the world, including protections for the environment.

Answered

Not addressed: null

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Q5 Nick Thomas-Symonds Lab Torfaen
Climate Business & Trade
Context

The UK's decision not to join the New Zealand-led initiative on climate, trade and sustainability is questioned.

Question

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am also grateful to the Secretary of State for her welcome. I look forward to our debates on the crucial importance of trade to our national economy and, indeed, to promoting our values around the world. The objective of the New Zealand-led international agreement on climate change, trade and sustainability is to break down global barriers to trade in green goods and services and eliminate the subsidies that are propping up fossil fuel producers. Can the Minister explain why?

Answer from Ranil Jayawardena

I, too, welcome the right hon. Gentleman to his place. He is right—the United Kingdom is not currently considering joining the negotiations on that agreement—but we will continue to work with partners to establish how such plurilateral initiatives can help to support discussions at the World Trade Organisation.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific reason for not joining was not provided.

How: Mentioned Ongoing Considerations

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Q6 Nick Thomas-Symonds Lab Torfaen
Climate Business & Trade
Context

The lack of progress on green trade in bilateral agreements since 2019 is pointed out, questioning the current approach.

Question

The Government have not made an inch of progress on green trade in any of the bilateral trade agreements signed since 2019, so why should we put faith in that now? The Board of Trade itself has said: “There are two main ways that trade can accelerate the green transition: liberalising green trade; and reducing market distortions”. Does the Minister accept that that is exactly what the New Zealand agreement does, and if so, does he not think that now is the time to show global leadership and not to stay on the sidelines?

Answer from Ranil Jayawardena

We are absolutely committed to ensuring that the environment receives the full attention of Her Majesty's Government, but we will also seek to end other environmentally wasteful practices that arise from other state actors, such as the subsidising of the illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing sectors that exist in some countries, and we will press for the successful conclusion of the fisheries subsidies negotiation. That demonstrates that we are working across a number of areas, not just the one to which the right hon. Gentleman has referred.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The lack of progress on green trade in bilateral agreements was acknowledged but no specific action or timeline provided.

How: Highlighting Other Environmental Work

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