Sir Keir Starmer has been busy talking up his trade deals with the US and India, while also planning ‘reset’ talks with the EU next week. Yet are these agreements all they are cracked up to be? The simple answer is that it is hard to tell because MPs are unlikely to get an opportunity to scrutinise them adequately. However, with all these deals, the devil is likely to be in the detail – and there is every chance that each one may prove to be politically contentious in the coming weeks and months.
Over the past year alone, Labour has proposed a controversial new deal with Mauritius over the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, which could have security implications for our dealings with China. Meanwhile, the FTA with India will provide a sensitive national insurance exemption to Indians working temporarily in the UK. The limited deal with the US might yet metamorphosise into something more significant too.
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