I understand that there has been much concern and misunderstanding about the purposes of the Trade Bill legislation. Therefore, let me start by clarifying outright that the NHS is not, and will never be, for sale. Indeed, this has been repeatedly made clear by the Government and Ministers. The main function of the Trade Bill is to transfer trade agreements we already have with the EU into UK law, and the NHS is not mentioned in the legislation. This Bill is, of course, separate from the UK Government’s future trade agreements programme, and should be treated as such. The amendments tabled by the Opposition were therefore completely unnecessary and were not relevant to the intentions of the Bill.
I would also like to reassure you that the EU Withdrawal Act will transfer all existing EU food safety provisions onto the UK statute book. This includes current import requirements, which for example ban the use of artificial growth hormones in domestic and imported products, and stipulate that no products besides potable water are approved to decontaminate poultry carcases. Indeed, the UK’s food standards are often higher than those in the EU, and Ministers have been clear on repeated occasions that these standards will be upheld.
In leaving the EU, the UK will be acceding to the World Trade Organisation’s Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) in its own right. The Bill’s provisions will make sure the UK can implement procurement obligations under the Agreement, ensuring continued access to £1.3 trillion per year of global procurement opportunities for UK businesses.
The Bill will also facilitate the creation of a new Trade Remedies Authority (TRA), to deliver a new UK trade remedies framework, which among other things will include protections for UK businesses from unfair trade practices or unforeseen import surges.
Similar to what I have mentioned above, it is important to make clear that the Trade Bill is a continuity Bill, and its functions are largely distinct from the Government’s future trade agreements programme. Indeed, the Bill cannot be used to implement new free trade agreements with countries such as the US. The Bill simply enables the 40 free trade agreements that the EU had signed with third countries before the UK exited to be transitioned.
Separate work on the future trade agreements programme is of course also pressing ahead, with negotiations already underway with the US, Australia and New Zealand.