Trade Bill

Written evidence submitted by Which? (TB05)

The Trade Bill

House of Commons Trade Bill Committee

Executive Summary

1) Which? welcomes the government’s commitment to maintaining UK standards both domestically as well as for imported goods and food. To reassure people that this will be upheld and to show trading partners that the UK is committed to its standards, the opportunity should be taken in the Trade Bill to enshrine this commitment.

2) Which? recognises the need to develop a trade remedies regime and equip the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) with the ability to consider the need for remedies objectively, on a case by case basis. This Bill must ensure the TRA’s governance and operational framework works transparently and independently in the public interest.

3) As part of this, the Bill should provide a clear duty to advance the interests of consumers and ensure effective consumer representation. Likewise, it is vital that the Board of the TRA are appointed to act independently, preventing any vested interests in the governance of the TRA.

4) The Bill also lacks a requirement for the TRA to consider consumers as part of its work to consider the impact on key groups. The Bill only explicitly lists producer and exporters, albeit it notes it is not limited to this. Given every person in the UK is a consumer we believe it is vital that analysing the impact on consumers of key decisions is added to this list.

5) We also believe the Bill could be strengthened with regard to trade governance so as to enhance public trust and ensure the UK is able to harness the full extent of expertise I the country so as to aide its negotiations with trade partners.

Introduction

6) Which? welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence to the Trade Bill Committee. The UK is in the unique position of building its trade policy from scratch. To be successful, it needs to have the public’s trust and support. Ensuring trade policy benefits consumers will be key to achieving this.

7) Which? wants to see the government take the opportunity to build on the UK’s world leading consumer rights and standards by pursuing an ambitious trade agenda for consumers in line with their needs and values including sustainable development. People will measure the success of trade policy decisions, including trade deals, by how they impact their everyday life, rather than by export and other trade statistics alone.

8) The UK trade agenda must look after the carefully crafted rights and standards that reflect people’s expectations. We are consistently told how important food standards, animal welfare, data protection and the safety of consumer products are for consumer confidence. The agenda should also be ambitious for consumers by ensuring trade delivers tangible benefits for people in areas such as cross border rights when shopping, travelling or accessing digital services.

9) Within the Bill there are three specific areas from a consumer perspective which we would like to draw the committee’s attention to. The first, is to uphold the standards UK consumers expect, the second is to ensure the Trade Remedies Authority takes in to account the consumer impact, and the third relates to the wider framework for the scrutiny of trade policy.

Upholding commitments to standards

10) To deliver a positive trade agenda that delivers for people across the UK, it is vital it supports the carefully crafted rights and standards that reflect people’s expectations. We are consistently told how important the safety of consumer products, food standards and animal welfare are for consumer confidence.

11) Trade policy will always involve trade-offs as countries seek greater access for certain types of products or services that play to their strengths and benefit their dominant or emerging industry sectors. In negotiating trade deals, it is important that the government ensures that these trade-offs are not damaging to consumers.

12) Some countries will have different standards for production – whether that is the regulations and standards that underpin production and marketing of, for example, consumer white goods, toys or medicines or those covering issues such as privacy and data or environmental protection. They will also have different types of public enforcement regimes for overseeing business compliance with these standards.

13) Trade negotiations will therefore often focus on the extent to which governments are willing to compromise on their own domestic standards or laws to allow goods or services from other countries to be available on the market. There may also be a focus on recognising different approaches as providing an equivalent level of protection.

14) Food standards are one example of this. Countries that the government has consulted on as priorities for trade deals (the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and potential accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)), use food production methods that are not currently permitted in the UK. This includes hormone treated beef and antibiotic growth promoters in the case of the US, Australia and New Zealand for example. The US allows certain end process treatments for poultry production that are not allowed in the UK, including chlorine washes.

15) Our consumer research has shown that most people would feel uncomfortable eating food produced using methods that are allowed in some countries, but not currently in the UK in the future:

· Eight in ten (79%) would be uncomfortable eating beef produced using growth hormones, whilst 77% would be uncomfortable having milk from cows that have been given them (77%).

· Giving antibiotics to healthy farm animals to promote their growth was of concern to a similar number of people (78%) and is currently not allowed in the UK. Seven in ten (72%) would be concerned about eating chicken that has been treated with chlorine.

· The majority of consumers (93%) think it is important UK food standards are maintained after Brexit.

· Nearly three quarters (72%) think food from countries with lower standards should not be available.

16) To meet consumer expectation, preserve the system that the UK has spent years improving, and, in turn, help secure support across the country for trade deals, it is important the UK government upholds standards through trade policy. Trade deals should ensure imports meet UK regulations and standards, and do not undermine the protections they give consumers where different approaches and systems, or a poor record of compliance, exists in future trading partner countries.

17) Which? welcomes the government’s commitment to maintaining UK standards both domestically as well as for imported goods and food. However in recent weeks there have been mixed messages regarding whether this will be upheld. To reassure people that this will be upheld and to show trading partners that the UK is committed to its standards, the opportunity should be taken to amend the Bill to enshrine this commitment to upholding standards on UK produce, as well as items entering the UK.

The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA)

18) Which? recognises the need to develop a trade remedies regime and equip the TRA with the ability to consider the need for remedies objectively, on a case by case basis.

Governance

19) In establishing the structures of the TRA through this Bill it is important that its governance and operational framework ensures it works transparently and independently in the public interest. This includes, for example, a clear duty to advance the interests of consumers and ensure effective consumer expertise is represented. To deliver this, Which? proposes the Bill is amended to include a requirement to have consumer interest expertise on the Board of the TRA. This could by amending Schedule 4, part 2 which outlines the composition of the TRA Board, adding to the list "including a consumer interest representative".

20) We also believe it is important that the Board of the TRA are appointed to act independently, preventing any vested interests in the governance of the TRA. We therefore also propose adding wording to this effect.

Taking account of consumers in key decisions

21) As the Bill sets out, the TRA has an important role in advising the Secretary of State with ‘advice, support and assistance’. However when considering the need to address the impact on key groups in the UK the Bill only explicitly lists producer and exporters, albeit it notes it is not limited to this.

22) Given every person in the UK is a consumer we believe it is vital that analysing the impact on consumers of key decisions is added to this list. If trade policy is truly to deliver for the public, they must be taken in to account as a key consideration which the TRA can consider in its analysis to help inform the Secretary of State’s decision making.

Building public support for trade deals – transparency and scrutiny

23) The UK has a unique opportunity as it designs it trade policy from scratch to earn the trust of the public. Transparency and engagement have a significant role in building this. In 2018 Which? joined with the International Chambers of Commerce, business organisations, trade unions and civil society representatives to publish A Trade Model That Works For Everyone. While the Bill cannot fully deliver this agenda in isolation, it could play an important role in setting some provision for a transparent and open dialogue – enabling more debate, input and scrutiny to ensure the UK harnesses all the expertise it has to deliver a world leading trade agenda, while building the trust of the public.

June 2020

Which? is the largest consumer organisation in the UK with more than 1.3 million members and supporters. We operate as an independent, a-political, social enterprise working for all consumers and funded solely by our commercial ventures. We receive no government money, public donations, or other fundraising income. Which?’s mission is to make individuals as powerful as the organisations they have to deal with in their daily lives, by empowering them to make informed decisions and by campaigning to make people’s lives fairer, simpler and safer.