On 11th November Which? launched the report of the public dialogue delivered with Hopkins Van Mil (HVM) to collect views on future trade deals. The HVM team worked in a partnership with Which? to design and deliver this deliberative programme which included almost 100 participants across the UK working closely with trade specialists who provided evidence to inform the discussions, and the Advisory Panel who guided the process.

National Trade Conversation: What really matters to consumers about future trade deals captures the key themes that emerged from our discussions together across two weeks of workshops and individual reflection in each of our dialogue locations: Northern England (Newcastle/South Shields); South Wales (Cardiff); Northern Ireland (across the nation); East Coast Scotland (Dundee); Southern England (Swindon).

In 12 hours of depth discussions in each location, delivered through online workshops and a platform for individual reflections, dialogue participants grappled with the complexities of trade negotiations. They considered their own priorities for key issues for trade, from food and farming to consumer rights and protections.

The report shows the importance participants in the dialogue placed on the government negotiating trade deals which:

Maintain health and safety standards of consumer goods;
Uphold data regulation rules;
Address regional inequalities
Protect the environment.

Which? and HVM greatly appreciated working with our dialogue participants to find out What matters to people about the consumer aspects of the UK’s trade deals, when the risks and benefits are explained?

Which? will be using the findings in the coming months and years as the UK continues to negotiate trade deals, and hope it will be used by the government and other organisations when considering trade policy and public engagement. More information on the Which? campaign is available here.

Below you can see a visual representation of the discussions from each location from More than Minutes.