Islands need a better say in global trade talks, say MPs
The UK let the Crown Dependencies down over international trade negotiations, fishing legislation and the recent Illegal Migration Bill, and needs to do more to give the islands a seat at the table for international negotiations, the House of Commons Justice Committee has said.
It has published a report today on the constitutional relationship between the UK and Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man, reflecting concerns expressed by the islands last year, particularly over negotiations for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
The committee noted that the outcome – inclusion in the CPTPP for trade in goods, but not services – ‘was not the one that the CDs had hoped for’. It added that the engagement offered lessons for how the CDs could be more effectively involved in negotiations in the future.
‘Representation of the interests of the Crown Dependencies in international relations is not optional, according to whether or not their interests are in line with those of the UK – it is the UK government’s duty,’ said Conservative MP Sir Bob Neill, chairman of the Justice Committee.
‘We wish to emphasise that the UK’s taking on of responsibility for its own international trade policy affords a real and very significant opportunity to make the most of the economic relationship with the Crown Dependencies.
‘They are valuable members of the British family and their important cultural and economic contributions deserve greater recognition.
‘We recommend that the Department for Business and Trade formally assesses their contribution to the UK’s offer in trade negotiations, and how their economic role can be better and more strategically promoted to potential trading partners, including the possibility of including them in the strategic approaches to free trade agreements that it publishes.’
The committee said the islands should be represented during international trade negotiations by specifically designated UK officials or their own officers.
The islands told the Justice Committee that they had serious concerns about the CPTPP negotiations, with ‘challenges in real-time communication throughout’, engagement ‘falling short of our expectations’ and that issues arising ‘could have been ameliorated by more effective consultation [or] communication’.
The CPTPP outcome was not ideal for islands with service-based economies. The Justice Committee has said that the UK should in future seek to ensure that all future trade agreements should be covered by services as well as goods from the outset. If that was not possible, extension mechanisms should be sought.
If the islands were in disagreement with the UK, the MoJ should find a mechanism for representation to serve the interests of both parties.
The report has also criticised the UK government’s inclusion of a permissive extent clause in the Fisheries Bill, which was offered by the UK, rejected by the islands, and included in the law anyway, describing it as ‘extremely regrettable and contrary to the constitutional relationship’.
‘We do not agree with the government’s assertion that it was a “legitimate act” and “soundly within the constitutional relationship” but rather consider it to have been a serious interference in long-established constitutional principles for short-term political reasons,’ the committee said.
‘We expect that the usual approach – mandated in the Ministry of Justice’s own guidance – of consultation and consent with regards to all future PECs will now prevail.’
And the committee has noted concerns raised in evidence about the extent of the Home Office’s consultation with the islands on the Illegal Migration Bill and deportations to Rwanda, which has now been enacted.
It called on the Ministry of Justice’s Crown Dependency team to initiate talks as soon as possible between the officials in the Home Office and Guernsey so that concerns can be discussed and addressed for the future.
The Ministry of Justice is the UK government department responsible for managing the UK’s constitutional relationship with the Crown Dependencies. Its performance in so doing falls within the remit of the Justice Committee. The report found that generally ‘there is a very positive working relationship between the Crown Dependencies and the Ministry of Justice’.
