argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman for the rather more thoughtful questions than those of the official Opposition. Of course, to be fair to him, he voted against CRaG. In fact, he, I and the right hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry) were all elected in the same year, 2005. He voted against CRaG, which is fair enough, and the right hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury and I voted for it. I can understand his consistency in being opposed to the process. However, we are confident that it represents a robust way of ratifying trade agreements and of Parliament having its say Not only that, but we have added to the CRaG process by publishing a scoping analysis and a likely economic impact assessment in advance of the deal, made written ministerial statements after each round, and then publishing an impact assessment when the deal is finally done which gets sent off to the International Trade Committee and the EU International Agreements Sub-Committee in the other place. We have gone far further than CRaG. I will also say this about SNP Members. Once again, they are complaining about these deals not being rolled over, but they are all deals that they have either not supported or abstained on. They abstained on EU-Japan. They abstained on EU-Singapore. They are against EU-Canada. They are against EU-South Africa. They are against EU-Korea. In fact, I have gone back 15 years, and I cannot find a single trade deal that the SNP has ever supported or voted for, so it is a bit rich for the hon. Gentleman to come along today and say that the deals have not been rolled over—none of which he supported in the first place. The SNP is anti-trade, it is hellbent on breaking up our Union and it is against Scotland’s best economic interests.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Christopher Stephen Grayling (Conservative, Centre-right): Listening to both the parties opposite, given how important free trade is for prosperity, I say thank goodness we are the ones in government. I commend my right hon. Friend and his colleagues for the work they have done in making as much progress as they have. I am confident that they will complete that progress in the time that remains As we head into 2021 and seek to negotiate another new round of free trade agreements, I ask my right hon. Friend to ensure that not only are we champions of free trade, but we set environmental sustainability at the heart of the negotiations. Those are global challenges that must be reflected in our commitment to free trade.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for his interest in this area. The UK’s new independent trade policy is designed to be very environmentally friendly. That occurred in the Secretary of State’s speech to the World Trade Organisation in the spring. The UK global tariff that we have published reduces import tariffs, or eliminates them entirely, on 104 environmental goods entering the UK, including things such as steam turbines. We have gone significantly further than the common external tariff of the European Union. When it comes to our negotiations with future trade partners, the US, New Zealand and Australia, we have committed to promoting trade in low-carbon goods and services, as well as supporting R&D, innovation and science in sectors such as offshore wind, smart energy, low-carbon advisory services and energy from waste.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman for that question. I remember appearing before his Select Committee during that inquiry in 2018, which I know he will remember well, too. The fact of the matter is that we have done roll-over deals with 52 countries. That is a very strong achievement and represents some 74% of the value of trade with non-EU countries that we set out to secure agreement with at the start of the trade continuity programme, which was when he did his inquiry. We are working flat out at the moment. He will know that just in recent weeks we have signed deals with Ukraine on 8 October, Côte d’Ivoire on 15 October and Japan on 23 October, and we signed an agreement in principle with Kenya on 3 November.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: International Affairs
Alexander Paul Thomas Stafford (Conservative, Centre-right): I am glad that the right hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry) raised Ghana, because that is what I am concerned about. The Ghanaian contention that the deal on offer is not compatible with the Economic Community of West African States simply does not stack up in my opinion. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that Ghana’s deal with the EU is compatible with ECOWAS and our deal replicates the EU deal exactly?
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: International Affairs
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for his keen interest in Ghana, which is an interest I share. I went with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy in 2009 to help train up Ghanaian politicians. It is a country that I have kept a keen interest in for the past 11 years. There is a deal on the table. It replicates the EU agreement, gives full duty-free, quota-free access to our market and is consistent with the EU-Ghana stepping stone deal applied in 2016. There is no evidence that that existing EU deal has damaged Ghana’s relations with its ECOWAS neighbours.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): I just remind the hon. Gentleman, because he was definitely in the House in 2010, that the CRaG process, which was set up by the last Labour Government and which I strongly suspect he voted for, is exactly the system of parliamentary scrutiny that we are using as the basis for these continuity trade deals now. Not only that, but, as I have already outlined, we are building on the CRaG commitments with additional reports and additional involvement from the International Trade Committee and the House of Lords International Agreements Committee.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Matthew Alexander Vickers (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my right hon. Friend agree that our departure from the EU offers the UK a golden chance to lead the world in modern areas such as services, technology and advanced manufacturing, creating great opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs in Stockton South?
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): I think the hon. Gentleman is operating under the misconception that the Government do not want Parliament interested in trade and in trade deals. We are constantly at this Dispatch Box—I, the Secretary of State and the rest of the ministerial team—talking about trade and trade deals. We welcome all the additional parliamentary scrutiny. I remind him that the CRaG process he talks about was set up under the last Labour Government. We have gone further in terms of the reports that we publish and the involvement of Select Committees in both Houses of this Parliament.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: International Affairs
Laura Rose Farris (Conservative, Centre-right): The Prime Minister of Canada went on the record last week to say that the two nations had reached a point where, in effect, a deal with Canada was there for the taking. Does my right hon. Friend agree with that analysis, and can he update the House on the progress of the continuity Canada deal?
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): We are confident that we will be able to secure an agreement with our Canadian partners for entry into effect on 1 January. It is an incredibly important deal. I remind the right hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry) that her official position, under the hon. Member for Brent North (Barry Gardiner) at the time, was to oppose doing this deal in the first place. Canada is an important strategic partner for the UK and our 16th largest trading partner worldwide. The UK exports £11 billion-worth of goods and services each year, and we stand ready to secure and expand this trade.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): As we know, international trade is a reserved matter. However, it does have an influence on a large number of areas of devolved competence, so it is quite right that we involve the devolved Administrations in formulating our trade policy and our approach to different trade negotiations. In terms of the relations that I have with the Scottish Government, the ministerial forum for trade meets quarterly, involving not only the UK Trade Minister—myself—but the three devolved Administrations. Since May, in the time that I have had the remit for talking with the devolved Administrations, I have met with Scottish Minister Ivan McKee five times.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Dehenna Sheridan Fareham (Conservative, Centre-right): Listening to what has been said so far, I am very glad that the Conservative party is in government, because we really recognise the value of free trade, not just in terms of GDP figures but the very real impact it has on our constituents—on the great people of Bishop Auckland and beyond. On that note, does my right hon. Friend agree with the interesting stance of the shadow Secretary of State that we should only make future trade deals with countries with which we have a trade deficit?
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): The shadow Secretary of State has come out with some extraordinary comments in recent times. That particular one sounded like it was verging on Trumpian mercantilism. My hon. Friend is right that, at a time of growing protectionism, trade provides economic security at home and opportunities abroad. It is a key part of the Government’s levelling-up agenda. Trade is very much part of this country’s future, as are trade agreements.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): I urge the hon. Member to judge us by our actions, not just our words. We have done continuity agreements with 52 countries, which account for £142 billion-worth of bilateral trade. On top of that, we have done a bespoke bilateral deal with Japan, which is the first stand-alone UK free trade agreement that this country has negotiated in 40 years. She should welcome the actions that we have taken to secure the future of these trade agreements and, in the case of Japan, improve on them.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Scott Lloyd Benton (Conservative, Centre-right): May I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the progress made so far in agreeing to roll over more than 20 of our existing trade deals? Is he able to reassure the House that the Government have sufficient capacity to continue to get trade deals over the line?
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): That is a good question, and the answer is simply yes. The trade policy group, which I have been involved with in two different stints at the Department, is an incredibly dedicated, highly professional group of people. It has grown from around 45 at the time of the referendum in 2016 to more than 700. We have taken in private sector expertise—lawyers, experts in trade flows, experts in particular product lines and so on. I am confident that we have the capacity and the right people in place, and I pay tribute to them all for the hard work that they have been doing.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: International Affairs
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for that question. As I have already said, we are in a good position with Canada. I am confident that we will be getting a deal. I saw those comments by the Canadian Prime Minister, whom I greatly respect. The only other person I have seen make those comments is Winston Peters, the leader of the New Zealand First party. I see it sometimes from the negotiating teams opposite; we need to take what they say in a live negotiation with a pinch of salt.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Greg Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the progress that has been made on the continuity agreements that are so vital for our country’s prosperity, not least in sectors such as agriculture, which is so important to my constituency. With that in mind, does he agree that, while the Opposition parties seek to play political acrobatics with trade, it is this Government who are listening and involving farmers in our future and continuity trade deals by putting the Trade and Agriculture Commission on a statutory footing?
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Agriculture
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is quite right. I think I am actually due to speak with farmers in his constituency in the coming 10 days or so, which I am looking forward to very much. He is quite right that putting the Trade and Agriculture Commission on a statutory footing means that all the National Farmers Unions from across the United Kingdom will play an active role in assessing trade agreements going forward.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: International Affairs
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): I think the hon. Member’s phrase was "abject ministerial failure". We are working hard to roll over all these agreements. I just remind him that these are all agreements that were opposed by the SNP in the first place. It abstained on EU-Japan and EU-Singapore, and it was against EU-Canada, against EU-South Africa and against EU-Korea. He ought to be celebrating the fact that these agreements are not being rolled over, to be consistent with his previous position. We are working hard to make sure that they are rolled over.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Jack Edgar Brereton (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my right hon. Friend agree that we should continue to follow the significant headway we have been making on a number of these trade agreements, and that we should help great British businesses, such as those in Stoke-on-Trent, to grow jobs by making the most of these agreements?
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is quite right. Both the Secretary of State and I have enjoyed meeting businesses in his constituency—particularly those in ceramics—and right the way across the city of Stoke. We have them on our minds in all our trade negotiations, to ensure that we get new opportunities for the ceramics industry in the Potteries and elsewhere.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: International Affairs
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): I remind the hon. Member that the deals that we have rolled over represent around three quarters of the programme. We have updated businesses, as we have updated this House, after each of those deals to make sure that they are kept apprised. When it comes to Canada, of course, this is a live negotiation. We have contact happening every day with Canada. It is worth remembering that Canada actually walked away from the negotiation in 2019, and did not return to the table until July this year. As soon as Canada returned, we put in place a negotiating team and we got on with it.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Jacob Young (Conservative, Centre-right): Trade, and the jobs, investment and prosperity it brings, is an incredibly powerful way to level up our country and transform left-behind places such as Redcar and Cleveland. Does my right hon. Friend agree that promoting trade and helping our businesses to export is the best way to rebuild and reshape our economy?
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend and he is absolutely right. We have talked very much about the trade policy aspects of this Department. We are engaging very strongly with the US, for example, on steel tariffs. I know that is something his constituents will keep an ongoing interest in, making sure that those unnecessary and counterproductive tariffs are removed. But when it comes to the wider picture, the Department for International Trade more broadly works incredibly hard at promoting both the exports and inward investment that I know will be really important to his Redcar constituents.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): I have an excellent relationship with the Welsh Government: first with Baroness Morgan and more recently with Jeremy Miles. The hon. Member is quite right that international trade is a reserved matter, but it does impact with devolved competence. I believe that the Welsh Parliament either has or will be recommending legislative consent to the Trade Bill, which I think is testimony to how well we are working together in the interests of all of the people of Wales.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Christian Wakeford (Conservative, Centre-right): I appreciate my right hon. Friend’s comments on this topic. I also welcome progress on continuity trade agreements so far as a first step to more comprehensive trade deals in the future. Does he agree that we cannot force countries back to the negotiating table and we must not do any deals at any price?
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is quite right: it takes two to tango, and that is as true for international trade agreements. If the partner does not want to negotiate, of course we will speak with them and use all the levers we have to try to get them to the table, but at the end of the day, if the partner does not want to negotiate, I am afraid that can happen.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: International Affairs
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): I would point the hon. Member to the agreements that we have signed in recent weeks with Ukraine, with Côte d’Ivoire and with Japan, with Kenya agreed in principle. We are looking forward to further agreements in the coming weeks that I hope she will welcome and support.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Joanna Mary Gideon (Conservative, Centre-right): Could I congratulate my right hon. Friend again on the Japan free trade deal his Department has just concluded, which has created new opportunities, such as for Lucideon in my constituency of Stoke-on-Trent Central? Does he share my enthusiasm about the deal as an important pathway to the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership?
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: International Affairs
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend—it is good to have so many Stoke MPs here, from our Benches, asking questions—is quite right. The CPTPP represents a fantastic future for this country, and I hope that we are able to apply for formal accession in early 2021.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Agriculture
Theresa Anne Villiers (Conservative, Centre-right): Our SPS—sanitary and phytosanitary—rules are based firmly on human health concerns, but they can have important animal welfare benefits by barring the import of food produced according to controversial intensive farming methods that would be unlawful here. With that in mind, will the Minister confirm that our trade deals will retain the ban in this country on ractopamine in pork and bovine somatotropin in dairy produce?
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: International Affairs
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): I can confirm that on 1 January under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 all of those existing rules will be transferred over to the UK statute book, and those bans will be maintained, which fulfils the manifesto pledge made by my right hon. Friend and I both individually and collectively last December.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Foreign Trade
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): I greatly respect the work the hon. Gentleman has done in Northern Ireland over recent years, and he and I met in a separate capacity last year to discuss some of these problems. He is right: it is clear that under the withdrawal agreement and the protocol Northern Ireland is covered by UK free trade agreements, which is absolutely the right position to be in. Rules of origin complications with EU trade agreements are part of the active negotiation between London and Brussels at this very moment.
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Agriculture
Fay Alicia Jones (Conservative, Centre-right): John Davies, who farms at Merthyr Cynog in my constituency, sits on the recently created Trade and Agriculture Commission in his role as president of NFU Cymru. He will be a loud voice for Welsh farmers, not holding back in his advice to Government. Does the Minister agree that having experts such as John scrutinising the detail of trade deals ensures they benefit Welsh farmers and proves this Government’s commitment to backing British farming?
Continuity Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny — House of Commons, 2020-11-17
Topic: Agriculture
Gregory William Hands (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and farming in Wales is so important that we have put its representatives on the Trade and Agriculture Commission not once, but twice; both NFU Cymru and the Farmers’ Union of Wales are on it. We have excellent interactions and hear their feedback at the Trade and Agriculture Commission, and we look forward to that continuing when it is put on a statutory footing.