Lords to ask if successes of EU/Canada trade deal can be matched by EU/US proposal
The House of Lords Committee investigating the trade deal between the EU and the US will this week hear about the potential for multi-billion pound gains the deal could generate.
A trade director at the European Commission and an expert in international trade will be questioned by the House of Lords EU Sub Committee on External Affairs on Thursday 23 January.
Mauro Petriccione, Director General, Trade, Asia and Latin America, at the European Commission and Professor Richard Baldwin, Professor of International Economics at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, will be questioned by the Committee, which is holding an inquiry to look at the benefits of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
At 10.05am, via videoconference, the Committee will ask Mauro Petriccione questions about his experience with the EU/Canada deal, which has notched up some significant successes already. Other questions to him will include:
- How comparable are the EU/Canada and EU/US deals?
- The EU/Canada deal is seeing major progress in the areas of agriculture and protected geographical indicators – can TTIP follow suit?
- Workers' rights were at the heart of the Canadian agreement – what can be done in this area in TTIP?
At 11.05am, the Committee will ask Professor Richard Baldwin questions including:
- How much could the UK benefit and are the figures reliable?
- What might the impact be on other countries, particularly developing countries?
- What can we learn from other trade agreements when it comes to lower prices and greater choice for UK consumers?
The first evidence session will take place at 10.05am, the second at 11.05am, on Thursday 23 January in Committee Room 1 of the House of Lords.
