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Five years of the Department for International Trade: what progress has been made?

To mark five years since the creation of the Department for International Trade, the Institute held a day of events to reflect on how well the UK gove

A key goal of Brexit was to allow the UK to have an independent trade policy. Since the referendum, the government has successfully rolled over most of the trade deals the UK was party to as an EU member state and initiated negotiations with Australia, New Zealand, the US as well as sought membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

To mark five years since the creation of the Department for International Trade, the Institute held a day of events to reflect on how well the UK government has developed its trade capability, the state of parliamentary scrutiny of international treaties, and what more the government needs to do to ensure the UK has a successful trade policy outside the EU.

 

Creating the Department for International Trade

 

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Membership of the EU meant that the UK had not had its own independent trade policy for more than 40 years. In one of her first acts as prime minister, Theresa May established the Department for International Trade to take on this function. This panel looked back at how department was established, how effective it has been in developing the UK’s skills and approach to international trade policy, and what more needs to be done to make the UK the big player in international trade it aspires to be.

To discuss these issues, we were joined by:

  • John Alty, Interim Permanent Secretary at the Department for International Trade
  • Dr Lorand Bartels, Reader in International Law at the University of Cambridge and Counsel at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
  • Sam Lowe, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for European Reform
  • Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government

The event was chaired by Maddy Thimont Jack, Associate Director at the Institute for Government.

 

Parliament, trade and treaties

 

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The Brexit negotiations demonstrated long-standing weaknesses in parliament’s ability to scrutinise trade negotiations and international treaties – with much of the May government’s time spent managing attempts by parliamentarians to enhance their role. In light of the government’s post-Brexit ambition to conclude new trade deals with countries around the world, this panel examined how parliament currently scrutinises international treaties and what more parliamentarians should do to ensure effective scrutiny.

To discuss these issues, we were joined by:

  • Jill Barrett, Associate Member 6 Pump Court, International Law Consultant and former Foreign Office legal adviser
  • Mark Garnier MP, Member of the House of Commons International Trade Committee and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department of Trade, 2016–18
  • Professor Holger Hestermeyer, Professor of International and EU law at King’s College London
  • Alex Horne, Counsel at Hackett and Dabbs LLP and Special Adviser to the House of Lords International Agreements Committee

The event was chaired by Maddy Thimont Jack, Associate Director at the Institute for Government.

 

Does the UK have a trade strategy yet?

 

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In our report Taking back control of trade policy, the Institute argued that the government needed a clear trade strategy. So far, the government’s main goal appears to be to strike as many deals as it can. But recent disagreements in cabinet over whether to open UK markets to Australian agricultural produce, and whether UK farmers will be able to compete, suggest that the government is still struggling to make the necessary trade-offs. This panel examined whether the UK has a trade policy, and if so, what it hopes to achieve.

To discuss these issues, we were joined by:

  • Martin Bell, Deputy Director of Trade at the Scotch Whisky Association
  • Anna Isaac, Incoming Economics Editor at The Independent
  • Graham Stuart MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Exports) at the Department for International Trade
  • Emily Thornberry MP, Shadow International Trade Secretary
  • Nick von Westenholz, Director of Trade and Business Strategy at the National Farmers Union

The event was chaired by James Kane, Associate at the Institute for Government.

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