My Lords, before I come to Amendments 11, 18, 33 and 45, I want to put on record that we have heard some very powerful views on human rights expressed by noble Lords in the Committee today. I deeply respect those views and when I say, with all due respect, they are not relevant to this Bill, which is about continuity agreements, I hope that is not in any way taken as me belittling those views that have been expressed. I would also like to put on record that we do not see it as a choice between securing growth and investment for the UK, and raising human rights. There is not a trade-off here that we are looking to make.
The UK is active in raising human rights concerns. In the case of China, it raises those concerns both directly with the Chinese authorities and in multilateral fora. For example, on 30 June the UK delivered a statement on behalf of 28 countries at the UN Human Rights Council, highlighting some of the matters that noble Lords have raised today—that is, highlighting arbitrary detention, widespread surveillance and restrictions, particularly those targeting Uighurs and other minorities, and urging China to allow the UN high commissioner for human rights meaningful access to Xinjiang. When I say these concerns are not relevant to the Bill, I am in no way say these concerns are not relevant in a wider context and deeply felt.
Coming to the amendments we have been debating today and turning first to Amendment 11, I am proud to say the UK has a strong history of protecting human rights and promoting our values globally. This will not change once we leave the EU. We have always been clear that we have no intention of lowering protections in these areas, as the Prime Minister set out in his Greenwich speech earlier this year. We are not engaged, as the noble Lord, Lord Hain, said or feared, in a race to the bottom. The bottom would not be an appropriate place for the United Kingdom to find itself.
It should come as no surprise that our continuity programme is consistent with existing international obligations as it seeks to replicate existing EU agreements which, of course, are fully compliant with such obligations. By transitioning these agreements, we are reaffirming the UK’s commitment to international obligations on labour and human rights. As noble Lords know, we are seeking to provide certainty and stability in trading relationships for UK businesses and consumers through our trade agreement continuity programme.
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We are not in any way looking to modify or dilute standards but to ensure the continuity of effect of existing EU agreements after the end of the transition period. I know that the noble Lord is disappointed that we are constraining ourselves in this way in the Bill, but that is what the Bill is for. We have published parliamentary reports alongside the continuity agreements detailing any significant changes that were required to transition the agreement to the UK context. These will confirm that none of the 20 agreements that we have already signed has reduced standards in any areas. We will continue to publish these reports for the remaining continuity agreements so that noble Lords can satisfy themselves that we have not defaulted on our commitments not to reduce standards. The Government have been clear that any future deals must work for UK consumers and businesses, upholding our high regulatory standards. Our continuity agreements will safeguard, not undermine, our international obligations.
I turn now to Amendment 18. Let me repeat that the UK has a strong history of promoting world-class labour standards and this Government have no intention of lowering domestic labour protections and our commitments to international labour standards. I am happy to put that on the record. Our continuity programme seeks to replicate existing EU agreements which are themselves fully compliant with international standards such as the fundamental conventions and principles of the International Labour Organization. By transitioning these agreements, we are reaffirming the UK’s commitments to these international obligations. Our continuity agreements will safeguard, not undermine, our international obligations and parliamentary sovereignty.
The noble Lord, Lord Hendy, spoke powerfully on this topic, as did the noble Lord, Lord Hain. Nothing that they said would I disagree with because we are not seeking to undermine these agreements. I cannot comment in detail on Chapter 23 of CETA, mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Hendy, as negotiations are ongoing, but I can assure noble Lords that we aim to secure high standards of labour protection in all the agreements we are negotiating, both in the continuity agreements and for the future.
I will now address Amendment 23 and I pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Alton, for his excellent work on the vital issue of human rights in government foreign policy. I admire the way he keeps this issue at the front of our mind on many different occasions, helping to ensure that we conduct relations with countries in a way that underlines the UK’s role as a leading nation in this field. I understand the concerns raised by the noble Lord. As he is aware, the Trade Bill does not contain powers to implement any trade agreement where there was not already a predecessor agreement with the EU on exit day. An example of that is China, which is not within the scope of our continuity programme, and a trade agreement with China cannot be brought in through the back door by this Bill. I can assure noble Lords that a trade agreement with China is not part of our plans.
In negotiations with all countries, we will not compromise on high standards in trade agreements. I can confirm to the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, that we
will not deviate from this in any way in respect of human rights. We have a strong history of safeguarding rights and promoting our values globally. While our approach to an agreement will naturally vary between partners, as these are negotiations, these agreements will always allow HM Government to have open discussions on a range of difficult issues, including human rights.
The second part of the amendment would seek to ensure that regulations cannot be made to implement agreements with non-democracies or which relate to critical infrastructure unless a draft of the implementing regulations has been laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution in both Houses. As my noble friend Lord Lansley remarked, not one of the continuity agreements is with any of the countries of which the noble Lord, Lord Alton, and others spoke. Perhaps more importantly, Part 2 of Schedule 2 already ensures that all regulations made under this power relating to any policy area will be subject to the affirmative procedure in both Houses, so this is completely covered by the powers we are seeking in the Bill. The introduction of this procedure has been widely praised by colleagues of all persuasions. The Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee, which my noble friend Lord Blencathra chairs, raised no issues about the delegated powers in the Bill.
I was pleased to hear the noble Lord, Lord Alton, and my noble friend Lord Blencathra raise the resilience of supply chains. This topic has not attracted enough attention in the past, but I reassure them and other noble Lords that we are now doing a lot of work in this area. We are analysing supply chains and working out where we are not resilient, and we will do something about it once that work is complete.
Finally, Amendment 45 would oblige the Government to publish equalities and human rights impact assessments before laying an agreement in Parliament. To give the noble Lord assurance that equalities and human rights are central to trade negotiations being undertaken by the department, I am happy to reaffirm our commitment to this, as requested by the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer. As a world leader in the area of human rights, the UK has played a key role in shaping the rules and institutions on which our human rights protections are based. The Government are proud of this record. It is part of the hallmark of the United Kingdom. Why would we want in any way to move away from that?
The UK helped to shape the EU’s protections for human rights and equalities and they are some of the most rigorous in the world. They will be transferred on to the UK statute book in full by the EU withdrawal Act at the end of the transition period. This will provide a concrete statutory framework for protections in these areas. Given that EU agreements received comprehensive impact assessments at EU level, we do not believe it is appropriate to introduce yet another impact assessment into our trade regime.
Before I conclude, I come to a couple of the questions raised by the noble Lord, Lord Purvis. The powers that we are taking in the Bill to amend primary legislation can be used only to amend primary legislation that is retained EU law. Since trade continuity agreements would have been implemented substantially through
EU law, this is necessary to implement any technical changes—I stress “technical changes”—to keep the agreements operable beyond the end of the transition period. The noble Lord also asked about the EU agreement and its clauses on human rights. I hope he will understand that as that agreement is presently under negotiation it would not be appropriate for me to comment on what is or is not in it. I would be happy to speak to the noble Lord further on this outside this session if he would find that helpful.
I hope I have provided sufficient reassurance to noble Lords, and I ask that Amendment 11 is withdrawn and that Amendments 18, 33 and 45 are not moved.