Defence Committee Inquiry Into the UK-US Defence Trade Treaty

UK Ministry of Defence, A Treaty between the United Kingdom and United States of America Governments concerning Defence Trade Cooperation was published on 24 September (Cm 7213). 
 
The House of Commons Defence Committee will be scrutinising this treaty before it is ratified by the UK Government. It will want to establish whether the Treaty will be effective in removing barriers to defence trade and technology transfer, and in improving cooperation between the US and UK Armed Forces. 
 
The Committee would welcome views from industry and others on the Treaty and its implementing arrangements. These should be sent in writing to the Clerk of the Defence Committee by Thursday 15 November 2007. 
 
The Defence Committee intends to take oral evidence on the Treaty on the morning of Wednesday 21 November 2007. This session will take place at Westminster. The witnesses and timings will be announced nearer the time. 
 
Commenting on the launch of the inquiry, the Committee Chairman Rt Hon James Arbuthnot MP said, “Removing barriers to trade between trusted allies is important not just to industry in the UK and the US, but – more importantly – to the effectiveness of our armed forces, as they fight side by side in military operations overseas. We want to make sure that the Treaty achieves what it sets out to achieve. We hope that people will raise with us any concerns either about the Treaty itself or about how it is likely to be implemented in practice.”