John Baron MP questions Brexit Secretary over White Paper

MP awaits answers from Cabinet Office

Today in the House of Commons, the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, Dominic Raab MP, gave a Statement as the Government published its White Paper describing the future relationship between the EU and the UK.

In the Chamber, John asked,

“In welcoming my Hon Friend to his post, he will be aware of the unease on both sides of the House regarding the extent to which the UK becomes a rule-taker as part of the so-called ‘Common Rule Book’ proposals.”

“Has he made an early assessment of the percentage of UK goods that would be subject to the ‘Rule Book’ and, by way of illustration, can he answer the question that I have asked elsewhere – will the UK be able to stop the export of live animals, which it wants to do but can not whilst we are a member of the EU?”

The Secretary of State responded that the Government estimates that 96% of UK goods trade would be able to pay the correct or no tariff upfront, with the remainder using a repayment mechanism. He did not respond to the question on live animal exports.

John said afterwards,

“I continue to seek clarity from the Government as to the practical consequences of the Chequers Agreement announced last Friday – I still await answers to questions I put to Cabinet Office officials earlier this week.”

“We now have a White Paper which sets out the Government’s intentions in greater detail – let us hope it brings clarity.”