Forty-Fifth Report - Progress with trade negotiations

Select Committee

Public Accounts Committee HC 993 18 March 2022

Report Status Government responded

Conclusions & Recommendations 29 items (8 recs)

Source View on Parliament website

Government Response (AI assessment · 28 of 29 classified)

Accepted 12

Acknowledged 8

Deferred 1

Not Addressed 6

Rejected 1

Government response

Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Forty Fifth report from Session 2021-22 · published 27 May 2022

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Recommendations & Conclusions

7 results

4 Recommendation Not Addressed

The farming industry has concerns about the effect of significant competition from imported Australian meat,...

Recommendation

The farming industry has concerns about the effect of significant competition from imported Australian meat, and there is a lack of clarity on the potential environmental impacts from increased trade with Australia. The FTA with Australia signed in December 2021 … Read more The farming industry has concerns about the effect of significant competition from imported Australian meat, and there is a lack of clarity on the potential environmental impacts from increased trade with Australia. The FTA with Australia signed in December 2021 removed tariffs and quotas on many agricultural products imported from Australia. There are four safeguards to protect the agriculture sector, including a 15-year safeguard to protect UK beef and lamb from a rapid rise in Australian imports following implementation of the deal. The Department says that the safeguard is adequate given the length of the transition period and because the increase in imports is expected to be small relative to the size of the UK market. However, the National Farmers Union remains pessimistic about the impact of competition from Australia on farmers who may lose out in exchange for gains in other areas of the economy. Defra expects imports from Australia to largely displace existing imports, for example from the EU, and says that it is doing a lot to help the agriculture sector export, such as setting up a food and drink export council. The Department and also Defra tell us that they have modelled the environmental impact of the deal with Australia, and do not expect there to be Progress with trade negotiations 7 changes in greenhouse gas emissions of UK production, or that transporting goods from Australia will have a big impact on carbon emissions when compared to other parts of the production process. However, the departments acknowledge that more needs to be known about carbon emissions and the interaction between transport and trade. Recommendation: Defra should work with the Department for International Trade to monitor the impact of free trade agreements in its policy areas. In particular, it should: i) monitor imports closely to make an ongoing assessment of the impact of the Australia FTA on beef and sheep farmers, and set out what support could be provided to those farm Show less

Government Response Summary

Response refers to elective and cancer treatment waiting times, which is unrelated to the recommendation regarding monitoring the impact of free trade agreements.

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1 Conclusion Not Addressed

On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...

Conclusion

On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for International Trade (the Department), the Cabinet Office and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).2 We were also joined … Read more

Government Response Summary

The government response simply recaps the committee's process of taking evidence and publishing its report, without addressing any specific points.

HM Treasury

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7 Conclusion Not Addressed

In addition to the programme of negotiations, the Department also needs to implement and review...

Conclusion

In addition to the programme of negotiations, the Department also needs to implement and review existing agreements.14 The Department told us that it has set up governance committees to provide an overview of how FTAs are being implemented in practice … Read more

Government Response Summary

The government's response explicitly addresses a different recommendation regarding the development of outcome-based metrics for trade negotiations, not the committee's point about implementing and reviewing existing agreements or workload.

HM Treasury

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17 Conclusion Not Addressed

We asked the Department how it would benchmark its trade promotion activities against those of...

Conclusion

We asked the Department how it would benchmark its trade promotion activities against those of countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong. The Department said that it 34 Q 30; C&AG’s report, para 4.19; Department for International Trade, Impact assessment … Read more

Government Response Summary

The government's response explicitly addresses a different recommendation concerning outcome-based metrics for trade negotiations, failing to engage with the committee's observation about benchmarking trade promotion activities or measuring their specific outcomes.

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18 Conclusion

We received written evidence from Logistics UK, asking for specific provisions to be included in...

Conclusion

We received written evidence from Logistics UK, asking for specific provisions to be included in future FTAs to make it easier for UK businesses to trade with the rest of the world. These include, for example, commitments to clear goods … Read more

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19 Conclusion Not Addressed

The FTA with Australia signed on 17 December 2021 removed almost all tariffs and quotas...

Conclusion

The FTA with Australia signed on 17 December 2021 removed almost all tariffs and quotas on agricultural products from Australia over 15 years. Tariff-free beef quotas, for example, would increase from a current 4,669 tonnes to 35,000 tonnes immediately after … Read more

Government Response Summary

Response discusses DIT's commitment to monitoring and evaluation findings, publishing a biennial FTA monitoring report, and working with DEFRA to support agricultural exports. It does not address the specific concerns raised in the conclusion.

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25 Conclusion Not Addressed

Which?

Conclusion

Which? also highlighted the importance of reflecting consumer interests more generally and suggested that a consumer chapter should be included in each trade agreement.69 The Department confirmed that the UK-New Zealand trade agreement will include a “first ever” chapter on … Read more

Government Response Summary

The government's response focuses on general transparency in trade negotiations, economic analysis methodologies, and public engagement, rather than addressing the committee's specific point about including consumer protection chapters in trade agreements.

HM Treasury

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