My Lords, I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this debate. The amendments in this group all relate to the composition, functions and approach taken by the Trade Remedies Authority. I am very glad to follow my noble friend Lady McIntosh of Pickering. She rightly referred to the powers and approach set out in the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018. I have to say equally gently that that is the answer to the points made by the Constitution Committee of this House—that they do not need to be set out in this legislation, because, way back when we first started considering the previous Trade Bill, as the noble Lord, Lord Purvis of Tweed, and I fondly remember, it was introduced at almost exactly the same time as the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Bill. They were intended to proceed in parallel and are now entirely separate.
To some extent, that also gives a further reason why we should briefly consider at this stage the Trade Remedies Authority’s understanding that it has, in the form of the trade remedies investigation directorate of the Department for International Trade, been up and running, working on the transition review from the European Union and making recommendations relating to the imposition of countervailing, anti-dumping or safeguarding duties inherited from the European Commission. To that extent, we seek to influence not something new but something that has an ongoing role.
In this debate, I want to raise several issues. I hope that my noble friend on the Front Bench will not regard it as necessary to elaborate on all these issues now. If he wishes to write later, that is absolutely fine, but I do want to make one or two points.
6.45 pm
First, there has been some concern that the delays to this legislation and its predecessor have disrupted the processes of establishing the Trade Remedies Authority and staffing it as we would have wished, leading to staff turnover. I hope that my noble friend will be able to say that we are now getting much greater stability in staffing. The leadership for the authority is now established. I have the utmost respect for the chair designate and chief executive designate, both of whom will be known to Members of this House—Simon Walker, the former head of the Institute of Directors, and Oliver Griffiths, who was trade negotiator on the UK-US negotiations in recent months. I express particular thanks to Satjit Singh, whom I remember from his health responsibilities, who has stood in as interim chief executive of the Trade Remedies Investigation Directorate in recent months. That has helped us to get to a good place. I hope that the fact that the chair designate was formerly the lead non-executive director of the Department for International Trade, and that the chief executive designate was formerly a very senior official in the department, does not undermine the independence of the Trade Remedies Authority. If we set out for it to be independent, it should be so and I hope that that will be demonstrated by the manner in which it goes about its task.
I want to make one point about engagement. It is important to understand the nature of the functions that the TRA is pursuing. With reference to the list of the TRA’s stakeholders in the amendment, the importance of industry bodies, trade associations and trade unions in identifying the interests of UK producers in a particular sector is central and cannot be overestimated. For example, there is a requirement that a complaint needs to be brought by 25% of UK producers and not be opposed by others. The fact that a trade association is bringing such a complaint must often be of the essence. A central aspect of the Trade Remedies Authority’s engagement must be with trade associations and trade unions—in relation to the workforces of those sectors—and that is not reflected in the purpose of these amendments.
That said, these amendments have helped identify some important issues. I hope that the Minister will not mind that I raised slightly wider issues, but these amendments are not necessary in order to give effect to a well-functioning TRA.