Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny Debate
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Lord Boateng
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Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny
Lord Boateng Excerpts(3 years, 5 months ago)
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Lord Grimstone of Boscobel (Con)
My noble friend recognises, as I do, the importance of reaching an agreement with Canada. Of course, the agreements that we will reach with Canada, those we hope to reach with Australia and New Zealand and the agreement we have reached with Japan are all vital precursors to fulfilling our ambition to accede to the Trans-Pacific Partnership. It is a complex matter; there are 11 countries in that partnership, and it will take time to bring all this to the point where the meal can be served, as opposed to just being cooked. Once we get to that point, Parliament will be fully involved.
Lord Boateng (Lab) [V]
Can the Minister assure the House that our continuity trade agreements with our African partners will support rather than undermine regional integration and the African free trade area?
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel (Con)
The noble Lord makes a good point. The free trade agreements are vitally important for the African countries; we are well seized of that. We have an active dialogue with them, and look forward to strengthening those agreements as we go forward.