5. Statement by the Minister for International Relations and Welsh Language: Update on Trade Policy

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:09 pm on 7 January 2020.

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Photo of Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Labour 6:09, 7 January 2020

Thank you. I think that you are absolutely right. I think that some of the templates exist already and you've been a part of those mechanisms in the past, where the Governments of the United Kingdom come together, you come to a common, shared position and then you go and speak at the EU together. So, this is not rocket science. It's all there. It needs to be picked up. It's just that there has obviously been a paralysis for a very long time in Westminster, but let's see now if that blockage will cease to exist.

Democratic accountability, I think, is absolutely crucial, but there's no point in just putting that at the end of the process. Article 50 should teach us something. They can go and negotiate whatever they want. If they bring it back to Parliament and Parliament rejects it, then what's the point? It's a pretty blunt instrument. You've got to engage people earlier on in the process, and I think that that is really important. 

You're absolutely right in terms of values. That is important and that's why we have set that out in the paper that we set out, the trade policy issues for Wales, where we've underlined some of the key values that we see as being important in Wales: sustainable development, economic and social protection. We don't want to see a watering down of labour standards. Well-being of future generations: we want to make sure that there is transparency and fairness. All of those things we've set out already, so I think that that is absolutely fundamental to the way forward.