Minister to give evidence to EU Committee inquiry on post-Brexit trade in services
Wednesday 3 February 2021
On Thursday 4 February 2021, the House of Lords EU Services Sub-Committee will take evidence on the impact on the UK’s trade in services of the provisions set out in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).
This evidence session will be held remotely and streamed on Parliament TV.
At 10am the Committee will hear from:
- Lord Grimstone of Boscobel, Minister of State, Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
- Tim Courtney, Director, Trade and Investment Negotiations, Services Directorate, BEIS
- Thomas Walkden, Deputy Director, Europe and Rest of World Trade, International Policy Directorate, Intellectual Property Office (IPO).
Questions the Committee is likely to ask include:
- How has the services sector adjusted to being out of the Single Market so far, and how is the Government supporting businesses to make these adjustments?
- The TCA's commitments to liberalising services trade are subject to a large number of national reservations in the annexes. What impact could these reservations have? Are there any specific reservations which have a particular impact on trade in services?
- Why was the Government unable to secure full mutual recognition of professional qualifications? What is the expected impact on the sector?
- Arrangements on business mobility will have a significant impact on trade in services. How does the Government plan to help businesses adjust to these new arrangements once international business travel resumes?
- Many UK service providers have chosen to re-establish in the EU or will do so in the future, due to the TCA’s provisions on cross-border supply. What is your assessment of the extent and impact of these relocations? What is the Government doing to persuade service providers to remain in the UK?
- Has the Government identified any specific new opportunities for the professional and business services sector from Brexit?
More on this inquiry
This inquiry, Future UK-EU relations: trade in services, has its own web page.
Last week the Committee held two evidence sessions. The first session focussed on professional, business and digital services. The second session was on the research and education sector. You can watch the sessions back on Parliament TV.
