Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 15
15
Deferred
Paragraph: 54
Proceed immediately with activating free trade agreement extension mechanisms for Crown Dependencies' compliance.
Conclusion
Extension mechanisms in several free trade agreements, including the CPTPP, have already been obtained by the UK Government. It is important to proceed with activating these mechanisms so that the approach can be tested and, if necessary, refined and improved. This should happen as soon as possible and the Department for Business and Trade and the Crown Dependencies should proceed immediately with the work necessary to ensure compliance.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government responded by agreeing on the importance of early and regular engagement between departments and Crown Dependencies for UK policymaking, entirely failing to address the recommendation to activate existing extension mechanisms promptly.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
54
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
41. The Department for Business and Trade will continue to consult with the Crown Dependencies on when best to seek to activate extension mechanisms. The Crown Dependencies’ positions on granting market access for the trade partner to their services and investment sectors must be developed and negotiated. The timing of the negotiations will also need to account for the domestic political circumstances, priorities, and resource constraints of a treaty partner. 42. The Government must also be satisfied that each of the relevant Crown Dependencies are compliant with the obligations of the chapters before they apply to those Crown Dependencies. The Department for Business and Trade is working closely with the Crown Dependencies on resolving outstanding compliance issues as a priority. This will aid planning to commence extension mechanism negotiations as soon as practically possible.
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