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International Trade Committee launches inquiry in UK-EU trade relationship

8 February 2021

The International Trade Committee is launching a new inquiry into the UK-EU trade relationship, focussing on the implementation of the trade provisions of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

The inquiry will explore:

  • the experiences of businesses and other stakeholders in the UK regarding implementation of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement’s trade provisions
  • how effectively the UK-EU trade relationship is being managed through the mechanisms under the Agreement
  • the impact of the Agreement, now and in the future, on the UK’s wider trade policy – including in relation to trade with non-EU countries; and
  • how the implementation of the Agreement – along with the wider UK-EU trade relationship – is likely to evolve

Angus Brendan MacNeil, the Chair of the Committee, said:

"Since the new arrangements for UK-EU trade began at the turn of the year, numerous reports have shown that businesses and consumers are experiencing a range of difficulties.

My Committee will be exploring these issues, including their impact on particular industries – not least those concerned with exporting perishable foodstuffs.

The Committee will also examine how the UK-EU Agreement could affect UK trade with non-EU countries, including how it might impact the Department for International Trade’s ongoing trade negotiations.

In our first session later this week, we’ll be hearing directly from national business organisations, alongside voices from the poultry and fisheries sectors."

The Committee will hold its first evidence session of this inquiry on at 2.30 pm on Thursday 11 February, looking at issues that have arisen since the Agreement came into force.

Witnesses 

Thursday 11 February

Panel 1 (2.30 – 3.30pm)

  • Mike Cherry, National Chair, Federation of Small Businesses
  • Fergus McReynolds, Director of EU Affairs, Make UK

Panel 2 (3.30 – 4.30pm)

  • Food and Drink Federation (witness TBC)
  • William Bain, Trade Adviser, British Retail Consortium
  • Richard Griffiths, Chief Executive, British Poultry Council
  • Terri Portmann, independent fisheries consultant

Further information

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