Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Free Trade Agreement: US

Thursday 20 January 2022 · 2 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 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • We have had five productive rounds of negotiations to date and have agreed a significant proportion of the legal text across multiple chapters.
  • I have just outlined where we are to date in terms of how much has been written and agreed to.
  • The Minister mentioned starting discussions on section 232 and an announcement made yesterday by the Administration.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Alex Cunningham Lab
Business & Trade
Context

The question addresses progress on a free trade agreement between the UK and the US, which was promised to be completed by the end of 2022 according to the 2018 Tory manifesto.

Question

What progress her Department has made on securing a free trade agreement with the United States.

Answer from Penny Mordaunt

We have had five productive rounds of negotiations to date and have agreed a significant proportion of the legal text across multiple chapters.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific commitment to complete the agreement by the end of 2022 was not addressed.

How: Talking About Ongoing Progress Without Addressing The Deadline

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Q2 Alex Cunningham Lab
Brexit Business & Trade
Context

The question addresses progress on a free trade agreement between the UK and the US, which was promised to be completed by the end of 2022 according to the 18 Tory manifesto. The previous answer outlined that five productive rounds of negotiations have been held.

Question

Can the Minister advise us at what stage the negotiations are now, and confirm that the promise to the electorate will be fulfilled and a deal put before this House by the end of the year?

Answer from Penny Mordaunt

I have just outlined where we are to date in terms of how much has been written and agreed to. I am sorry that the hon. Gentleman did not congratulate my right hon. Friend on having started discussions on section 232 and the announcement that was made yesterday by the Administration. He will know that we are concurrently negotiating memorandums of understanding with states. These things can only be done at state level; I am talking about regulated and regulator discussions, mutual recognition of qualifications and so forth, which will reduce massively the cost of doing business with the United States. We are making good progress on that twin-track approach.

Not addressed: The specific commitment to complete the agreement by the end of 2022 was not addressed.

How: Changing Subject To Discuss Other Aspects Of Negotiations

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