Meeting of the Parliament 25 March 2025
On that scale of products, Government action is, of course, needed, as is a bigger-system approach. There needs to be a global recognition and understanding of where the challenges are. There is no way, I would imagine, that the Scottish Government could investigate the supply chain in China all the way down to the nth degree. However, there should at least be a due diligence process, which has been severely lacking in many cases. Some members will recall the issue of the China Railway Company No 3 Engineering Group in relation to human rights abuses in Africa. Through a subsidiary in the United Kingdom, it had offered a £10 billion deal to the Scottish Government to invest in infrastructure here. There was not even a proper due diligence process involved in that.
I would have hoped that the Government would perhaps be consistent across its fair trade policies for its procurement so as to tackle some of the deep-rooted problems. We are now going through the process of investing significantly in the ScotWind round of offshore wind farms, and many Chinese companies are interested in that work. I would hope that there would be some kind of process to check the supply chain for that. There are some challenges, and there needs to be a global effort to ensure that we understand them, but I am afraid that the silo mentality that exists now is just not adequate.
I pay credit to the many organisations across the country that have engaged in fair trade over many years, and I recognise their contribution to making Scotland a fair trade nation—from councils to companies, communities and the public sector in all parts of the country. The weaknesses that the report has identified are quite sharp, however. Noting the point that John Mason made, there is quite a low threshold for passing the test, and we should be fully engaging across the country in order to say that we are truly a fair trade nation. A small number of schools are engaged in that. The NHS comes in for particular criticism in the report. Although it has a programme, is there proper engagement in the process? That is a big question. It is a low bar for local authorities to be involved, so let us challenge ourselves to be much better, rather than just accepting that we have passed the test.
I pay particular tribute to St Andrews, which celebrates 20 years of being a Fairtrade town. The campaign there has been very effective, not just in ensuring that there is a range of products for people to buy, but in terms of good education, so that the local community can understand the challenges that we face in that area. So effective has the campaign been that the University of St Andrews is now a Fairtrade university, which is very positive.
On Murdo Fraser’s point about free trade, yes, free trade is good—I am a Liberal, and I would, of course, say that free trade is a good thing—but unfettered free trade is not a good thing. We need elements of control and a moral compass. We need to ensure that we are purchasing in a controlled way, rather than an unfettered way. Yes, free trade can drive improvements in many countries and can create opportunities, growth and jobs, but, if it is not used in the proper hands, it can be used as a weapon.
That is my second point of agreement with Patrick Harvie. President Trump is using trade as a weapon—not for the good of the globe, but for the good of his supporters in the United States. We should not support that, and we should recognise when trade is being used in those terms.
I praise all those who have made sure that Scotland is a fair trade nation. However, there is so much more work to be done, and we should not rest on our laurels. We should ensure that everybody understands the benefit of fair trade, and the Government needs to ensure that every corner of Government activity endorses those principles, as well.
15:45