The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) has repeated its concerns about the current Australia trade deal and its impacts on UK agriculture when giving evidence to the Welsh Senedd‘s Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee.
There's a natural concern that the full liberalisation of the trading of agricultural goods risks the displacement of Welsh and UK food production.
Although the UK Government impact assessment implies an estimated loss of gross output for Wales's beef and sheep sectors of £29 million, this needs to be considered in the context that the UK-Australia deal is likely to set a precedent for future trade deals.
The cumulative effect that we would expect from trade deals with countries such as New Zealand and others within the CPTPP means that that £29 million then becomes much greater, in the longer term at least.
There's also the potential for trade deals such as this to impose further barriers on UK exports to the EU, particularly when considering the differences in production standards between the UK and Australia.
There has been a big focus and a lot of effort going into signing trade deals such as the one with Australia since the UK left the EU, rather than improving and making the current UK-EU trade deal more efficient.
There has also been a 25% reduction in UK sheep meat exports to the EU since the introduction of post-Brexit checks and bureaucracy at borders. Therefore, there are improvements to be made in terms of current trading arrangements with the EU, which is the biggest export market for UK red meat.
Inherent to an increase in food imports as a result of this deal would also be a reduction in the UK’s food security, either through the displacement of UK production or through an increased reliance on food produced thousands of miles away.
In addition, the UK and Welsh Governments need to postpone the introduction of any additional red tape that could further undermine the UK agricultural industry. Additional red tape in any form, whether it’s livestock transport regulations, the NVZ regulations, or anything else that would put Welsh and UK producers at a further disadvantage compared to those in countries such as Australia, has to be avoided.