Menu
UK Parliament
UK Trade Minister, EU/US Investment Partnership sub c ttip tugendhat trade

Lords question Trade Minister on EU/US Investment Partnership

21 November 2013

Image of UK Parliament portcullis

Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint, Minister of State for Trade and Investment, will give evidence on Thursday 21 November at a Lords inquiry into the EU/US trade deal.

Witnesses

Thursday 21 November, Committee Room 1, Palace of Westminster

At 10.05am

  • Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint, Minister of State for Trade and Investment;
  • Edward Barker, Head of Transatlantic & International Unit, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Background

The House of Lords EU Sub-Committee on External Affairs is holding an inquiry to look at the benefits, both to the EU and the UK, of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which was launched earlier this year.

Possible questions

The Minister of State for Trade and Investment will be asked how the deal could affect the UK in areas such as financial services, the car industry, maritime and air transport services, but also agriculture, food and drink – an area regarded as pivotal to the deal

One area of questioning will be around the potential boost TTIP offers to UK goods of protected geographical indication, for example Scottish Salmon, the Cornish Pasty and Dorset Blue Cheese, with the Committee hoping to establish how much protection these brands could be given by the deal in the US.

Lord Green will also be joined by another witness, Edward Barker, Head of the Transatlantic & International Unit, at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The witnesses will also be asked questions such as:

  • What do you expect to be the United States’ top requests of the EU in discussions on agriculture, and would those requests pose problems for producers in the UK?
  • What steps are you taking to dispel US resistance to including financial services in TTIP?
  • What practical benefits would the industry, and consumers, see in relation to the automotive part of the deal?
  • What would a disappointing TTIP agreement look like from the UK’s point of view?
  • Would there be consequences for the ongoing debate on UK membership of the EU?

Further Information