Law School Researchers influence Parliamentary scrutiny of UK’s First Trade Agreement (FTA) since Brexit

The UK-Australia Agreement is currently undergoing parliamentary scrutiny.

Dr Joshua Paine and Professor Albert Sanchez-Graells provided evidence.

Press release issued: 8 July 2022

Earlier this week the House of Commons International Trade Committee published its report, ‘UK trade negotiations: Agreement with Australia.’ As the first truly new trade agreement concluded by the UK since exiting the European Union, the report is of particular importance and heavily cites evidence provided by Law School researchers in the key areas of investment and procurement.

The UK-Australia Agreement was signed in December 2021 and is currently undergoing parliamentary scrutiny ahead of ratification by the UK.

Prior to the Australia deal, the UK concluded a set of trade ‘roll over’ agreements that sought to replicate EU trade agreements with the rest of the world, to which the UK had previously been a party as a member of the EU.

Research-informed insights from Dr Joshua Paine and Professor Albert Sanchez-Graells helped the Committee clarify the implications of the UK-Australia FTA in areas related to their expertise.

On the issue of investment, Dr Paine submitted written evidence to the Committee’s inquiry which was published in the Law School’s Research Paper Series.

Dr Paine’s research highlights that while the UK–Australia FTA’s investment chapter is clearly based on the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) - which the UK has applied to join and which Australia is a Party to - there are some significant departures from CPTPP.

For example, the UK-Australia FTA:

introduces additional requirements for a legal entity to qualify as protected investor
extends investment liberalisation obligations further than CPTPP
applies the general exceptions provisions incorporated into the wider Agreement to the entire investment chapter, unlike CPTPP.

Dr Paine's evidence helped the Committee understand how the FTA’s investment chapter compares to CPTPP and other recent trade and investment agreements.

Dr Joshua Paine said: "I am happy to see that my evidence was useful to the Committee in its analysis of the investment chapter of the UK–Australia FTA. Major developments are happening at pace in UK trade and investment policy given the numerous negotiations for new or updated trade agreements that the UK is engaged in."

On the issue of procurement, Professor Sanchez-Graells gave oral and written evidence to the Committee.

Like Dr Paine, Professor Sanchez-Graells also analysed the interaction between the UK’s and Australia’s obligations under the CPTPP and the UK–Australia FTA – additionally he analysed the interaction with the World Trade Organisation Government Procurement Agreement (WTO GPA, to which both States are members).

Professor Sanchez-Graells' research concentrated on the risks of infringement of international obligations where the FTA and CPTPP deviate from the previously engaged obligations of the WTO GPA.

His blog 'Why is entering into multiple procurement-related free trade agreements problematic?' is based on a forthcoming article arising from his evidence in Legal Issues of Economic Integration. The article looks at what regulatory strategy is needed to simplify procurement liberalisation and increase legal certainty in trade.

Further information

In February 2022, Dr Paine and Professor Sanchez-Graells participated in a workshop that analysed numerous aspects of the FTA, involving members of the Trade and Public Policy (TaPP) Network.

TaPP is the UK’s largest network of academic trade experts and is co-founded by Associate Professor Greg Messenger, also of the University of Bristol Law School, who co-organized the February workshop. A note summarising TaPP members’ presentations at the workshop What’s in the UK-Australia FTA? Preliminary Reflections was published in March 2022.

Dr Joshua Paine is a Senior Lecturer in Law with a focus on international economic law and international dispute settlement. He delivers the international investment law unit for our postgraduate courses.

Professor Albert Sanchez-Graells is a Professor of Economic Law and Co-Director of the Centre for Global Law and Innovation at the University of Bristol Law School. He specialises in EU economic law and, in particular, in competition and public procurement law and policy.

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