Draft Procurement Act 2023 (Specified International Agreements and Saving Provision) (Amendment) Regulations 2026

Lisa Smart Excerpts

Monday 9th March 2026 General Committees

[Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to have you in the Chair this evening, Sir Desmond. While the Liberal Democrats welcome the overarching free trade agreement and are in favour of opening up trade in the face of Trump’s trade wars, we believe that the agreement between the UK and India could have gone further in a number of areas, in particular with respect to services.

During a speech in a debate on the free trade agreement, my hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Charlie Maynard) argued that its economic benefit is small—only 0.13% of GDP by 2040—compared with the estimated economic impact of Brexit, which some say is 6% to 8% of GDP. As much as some of us might enjoy it, I do not propose to relitigate our leaving the European Union via the First Delegated Legislation Committee this evening, but my hon. Friend made the point that the EU secured better tariff access to India—96.6% compared with the UK’s 92%—which suggests that larger trading blocs have greater negotiating power.

Importantly, my hon. Friend raised concerns that India exports petrochemicals refined from Russian oil to the UK, exploiting a sanctions loophole. The EU has already closed that loophole, but the UK has not yet done so. Could the Minister provide an update on that situation and, if the loophole permitting the export of Russian-derived products remains in place, say when it will be closed?