Select committee: Welsh Affairs Committee
Recommendation 5
Third Report - Implications of the UK-Australia FTA for Wales
Published 4 Aug 2021
Paragraph 30
Addressed to Wales Office
Welsh Affairs Committee One-off session on the implications for Wales of the UK/AUS FTA All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We are concerned that the statutory Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC) is not yet operational and we urge the UK Government to set up the TAC as soon as possible. The UK Government intends to allow the TAC to scrutinise the final text of the UK-Australia free trade agreement (FTA), but this may occur too late to enable effective Parliamentary scrutiny of the agreement. To improve scrutiny of future FTAs, the TAC’s report should be published alongside the final text, impact assessment and explanatory memorandum.
From: Welsh Affairs Committee, Third Report - Implications of the UK-Australia FTA for Wales (HC 481), paragraph 30, 4 August 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 25 November 2021 (deadline 4 October 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government's response sets out existing engagement and publication arrangements for most recommendations, says it will publish its response to the Trade and Agriculture Commission report "as soon as it is ready", and commits to no new Wales-specific impact assessment.
- On Welsh Government access to draft treaty text, it says it has "committed–and delivered on the commitment–to sharing FTA draft treaty text with the devolved administrations prior to any signature".
- On a Wales-specific impact assessment, it states only that DIT publishes scoping and impact assessments at the launch and conclusion of FTA negotiations, which provide analysis of potential impacts on the nations and regions of the UK.
- On agricultural safeguards in years 11 to 15, it describes product specific safeguards for beef and sheep meat, with a 20% safeguard duty if volume thresholds are exceeded, plus a general bilateral safeguard mechanism.
- On the Trade and Agriculture Commission, it says its advice "will be published to inform Parliamentarians" before ratification, and on Agriculture and Food Counsellors says "We aim to expand their number", without stating a date.