Briefings TJM responds to government consultations on post-Brexit trade deals
TJM responds to government consultations on post-Brexit trade deals
Amidst the Brexit chaos, the Department for International Trade launched four separate consultations for the UK to pursue post-Brexit trade deals. The consultations requested views on the UK initiating deals with the US, Australia and New Zealand, and joining the existing Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
The Trade Justice Movement has joined with other organisations to set out ‘red lines’ for all future UK trade deals to Trade Secretary Liam Fox. These red lines demand that trade negotiations are open to public and parliamentary scrutiny and are not used as a mean of pushing down regulatory standards post-Brexit. We are deeply concerned that post-Brexit trade deals could unleash a wave of deregulation that would affect food quality, workers’ rights, public services and financial standards.
Civil society organisations are calling for UK trade policy to:
1. Be developed with full democratic scrutiny.
2. Not take precedence over other societal priorities.
3. Not lead to a race to the bottom on labour rights.
4. Preserve the right to make policy in the public interest and the precautionary principle.
5. Exclude public services.
6. Allow governments to regulate and tax international investment.
7. Not offer excessive intellectual property provisions.
8. Exclude e-commerce.
9. Not prevent government from using public procurement to support local communities or achieve social and environmental goals.
10. Offer meaningful preferential treatment for countries in the global South.
TJM's consultation responses (below) set out our concerns about joining these trade deals and provide guidelines for how the government should develop post-Brexit trade policy which puts people and planet at the forefront.
