Brexit: MPs report – trade deals won’t deliver any ‘actual economic benefits’

A new report is published on Brexit that shows it is uncertain whether Brexit free trade agreements negotiated by Boris Johnson’s government will provide any “actual economic benefits.” This is according to an influential committee of MPs.

The scathing report by Public Accounts Committee criticises the government’s approach in all aspects of managing Brexit.

In a scathing report released on Friday, the Public Accounts Committee said the department of international trade had been too secretive and not kept parliament properly informed about what it was doing. TruePublica had warned about the level of secrecy to be expected several years ago.

And the cross-party committee warned there was a risk consumer standards could slip because of the deals – with possible “trade-offs across different policy areas, such as agriculture, the environment and human rights”. Again, this is something that TruePublica and many others had warned about.

And then there was the crux of Brexit itself. Tory MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, who deputy chairs the committee, said the department for international trade was “really struggling to point to tangible wins for British business, consumers or our own agriculture sector” from its programme of negotiations.

The committee’s report warned:

“There is a lack of clarity about how the department will measure whether it is achieving benefits from its programme of trade negotiations so that parliament can hold it to account for its progress.”

“The department currently publishes the impact assessments it makes prior to trade agreements being implemented, but the department has not set any associated targets.

“There is no guarantee that the agreements will deliver actual economic benefits unless the department provides vital support to help businesses use the agreements, particularly for smaller businesses wanting to export worldwide.”

 

After all the division that was caused by the Conservative party over Brexit, the damage it has done to trade relations, political ties and even our own businesses – Boris Johnson, along with his cheerleaders of Brexit, specifically those within the ERG now stand accused of massively overstating any benefits that leaving the EU could bring.

Furthermore, since Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the real powerhouses of diplomatic efforts have been recognised as the USA, EU and China – leaving ‘Global Britain’ somewhat stranded from a diplomatic standpoint.

In 2021, the British economy suffered tens of billions in lost trade with the EU, calculated to be 11.2 per cent shortfall of total goods trade with its once strong European partners.

 

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