Briefings No more secret trade deals: the urgent need for transparency and democracy in UK trade deals
Briefings
READING TIME 15 minutes mins
No more secret trade deals: the urgent need for transparency and democracy in UK trade deals
With Brexit negotiations underway, the UK government must pass legislation on trade in
line with the new powers it is expected to gain to negotiate and conclude UK trade deals. If,
as expected, the UK exits the EU’s ‘customs union’, it will have the power to negotiate trade
deals for the first time in more than 40 years.
The UK is already engaging in informal trade talks with countries including Donald Trump’s USA. As such, it is of critical importance that legislation guaranteeing that parliament and the public can engage in a transparent and democratic process for mandating, negotiating and ratifying trade and investment agreements is proposed by the government.
