Ministers’ scope to sign trade deals with governments that abuse human rights have been severely reduced after a double defeat in the House of Lords. In future, ministers will be required to both undertake a human rights impact assessment for any trade deal, and revoke an agreement in cases where potential genocide is found in a preliminary UK high court ruling. It would be the first time domestic courts were given the right to declare if genocide was occurring in another country. The genocide hurdle has been devised specifically in relation to allegations that China is committing genocide against Uighur people in Xinjiang province, a charge Beijing has repeatedly denied. He added that the UK had no plans to secure a free trade deal with China, but said UK-China trade was worth approximately £76bn.

Source: The Guardian December 08, 2020 10:41 UTC