Key Facts

• Graham Brady serves as Chairman of the Committee.
• Charlotte Nichols declares an interest related to her father's position at the TUC.
• Professor Winters discusses potential issues with the Bill, including its drafting and secondary legislation processes.
• Professor Winters raises concerns about environmental regulations being altered under secondary legislation.
• The GPA needs technical updates to reflect current Government Departments' coverage.
• The UK aims to improve trade in services statistics for better global leadership.
• Professor Winters raises concerns about the lack of formal consultation and reporting back to Parliament under the CRAG process.
• The Trade Bill grants extensive secondary legislative powers to the Minister.
• There is no requirement for primary legislation for implementing continuity agreements.
• Graham Brady chairs the session until 3:10 pm.
• Nick von Westenholz represents the National Farmers Union.
• Key issues include trade and standards of food production, and scrutiny of trade agreements.
• The Trade Bill deals with existing trade agreements through continuity.
• Future trade agreements present challenges in ensuring equivalent production standards for imports.
• UK farmers operate under high legal requirements for animal welfare compared to many overseas producers.
• The session concludes with Graham Brady thanking Mr von Westenholz.
• The Committee will suspend briefly before the next evidence session.
• Richard Warren is head of policy and external affairs at UK Steel.
• The Trade Bill affects over 40 measures, with 15 or 16 specifically related to steel.
• Turkey is the third largest export market for UK steel after the EU and US, accounting for 8% of UK exports.
• Ian Cranshaw is head of international trade at the Chemical Industries Association.
• The chemicals industry contributes to approximately 96% of manufactured goods.
• There is only one live case involving welded tubes produced by Tata Steel in Corby, which has been ongoing for three months.
• Engaging with trade remedies investigations costs a significant amount of money due to external legal support and consultancy needs.
• Discretionary spending within many manufacturing companies, including the steel industry, has been halted due to coronavirus disruptions.
• The Trade Remedies Authority provided an extension of three months in response to financial difficulties.
• The Department for International Trade has grown from 30 trade policy experts to over 100 staff members.
• The Trade Remedies Authority will have 100 staff initially, growing to 130.
• Of the 23 remedies in place in the EU's chemicals sector, only two were transitioned into UK law.
• The agreement with Turkey may not be carried over due to delays in passing the Trade Bill.
• A 15% tariff on UK steel exports to Turkey, which accounts for 8% of total exports, is a significant concern.
• Without this agreement, there could be up to half a million tonnes of steel imports from Turkey with no reciprocal trade benefits.
• Chinese steel exports to the UK decreased from 500,000 tonnes in 2015-16 to 100,000 tonnes due to trade remedies measures.
• Rosa Crawford is a policy officer at the Trades Union Congress representing over 5.5 million UK workers.
• The TUC believes it is crucial that UK trade policy supports recovery from the pandemic based on good jobs and respect for workers' rights.
• The Trade Bill does not provide roles for trade unions or Parliament in negotiating trade deals, nor does it ensure protection of public services.
• The line was lost during the session.
• The sitting was suspended briefly while they tried to resume the connection.
• TUC is concerned about the potential rollback of workers' rights and environmental standards in public procurement post-Brexit.
• The Trade Bill does not currently provide assurances that UK’s public procurement rules will promote respect for workers’ rights or environmental standards under WTO GPA.
• There are worries that without strict tender selection criteria, lower quality products may be procured from countries with less stringent labor and environmental protections.
• Graham Brady chairs the Public Bill Committee.
• George Peretz, QC, specialises in customs law and EU law.
• The session focuses on questioning George Peretz about the scrutiny provisions of the Trade Bill.
• The Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018 conferred powers on an authority that does not legally exist.
• Without a no-deal Brexit last year, it would have been unsatisfactory and potentially legally problematic to rely solely on the existing structure.
• The Trade Remedies Authority is responsible for making technical legal and economic judgments.
• The session concludes after discussions about parliamentary scrutiny of international trade agreements.
• Simon Walker, chair designate of the Trade Remedies Authority, provides evidence from 16:30 onwards.
• Two transition agreement investigations are underway at the Trade Remedies Investigations Directorate concerning welded steel and tubes, and rainbow trout.
• The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) will have a maximum of nine members, including three internal and five non-executive directors.
• Walker stresses the need for board members with strong legal, financial/accountancy, and investigatory backgrounds to ensure governance integrity.
• There are concerns about maintaining objectivity if representatives from specific sectors or interests are included on the TRA board.
• Graham Brady thanked the witness for their assistance.
• The sitting was adjourned until Thursday, June 18 at half-past eleven o'clock.