Farmers’ Union of Wales members from Anglesey have outlined their concerns and objections to the free trade agreement with Australia at a recent meeting with their local MP Virginia Crosbie and UK Minister for Trade Policy Greg Hands.

Speaking after the meeting FUW Anglesey County Executive Officer Alaw Jones said: “We made it very clear in our meeting with Virginia Crosbie and Greg Hands that trade deals lock the current and future governments into them, and as such need time and thorough scrutiny. 

“Under no circumstances should they be rushed, but that is what is happening here, on top of which the UK Parliament will not be able to scrutinise and have a final say on a deal in the way other democratic nations do.”

Ms Jones said the FUW had therefore asked them to do all they can to oppose such a trade agreement and ensure detailed scrutiny takes place.

“The extreme problems we are seeing in Northern Ireland because of the protocol show what happens when politicians do not listen to stark warnings and rush things through in order to meet a self imposed timetable, but that’s exactly what’s happening with regard to the Australia deal. 

Farmers’ Union of Wales members from Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire have outlined their concerns and objections to the free trade agreement with Australia at a recent meeting with their local MP Simon Hart. The meeting was hosted jointly with NFU Cymru via Zoom.

Speaking after the meeting FUW Carmarthenshire county chairman Philip Jones said: “We made it very clear in our meeting with Simon Hart MP that trade deals lock the current and future governments into them, and as such need time and thorough scrutiny. 

“Under no circumstances should they be rushed, but that is what is happening here, on top of which the UK Parliament will not be able to scrutinise and have a final say on a deal in the way other democratic nations do.”

Mr Jones said the FUW had therefore asked him to do all he can to oppose such a trade agreement and ensure detailed scrutiny takes place.

Farmers’ Union of Wales members from Montgomeryshire have outlined their concerns and objections to the free trade agreement with Australia at a recent meeting with their local MP Craig Williams.

Speaking after the meeting FUW Montgomeryshire county chairman Bryn Francis said: “We made it very clear in our meeting with Craig Williams MP that trade deals lock the current and future governments into them, and as such need time and thorough scrutiny. 

“Under no circumstances should they be rushed, but that is what is happening here, on top of which the UK Parliament will not be able to scrutinise and have a final say on a deal in the way other democratic nations do.”

Mr Francis said the FUW had therefore asked him to do all he can to oppose such a trade agreement and ensure detailed scrutiny takes place.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales says the emergency UK-EU talks being held to try and overcome problems caused by the Northern Ireland Protocol highlight the dangers of the UK entering a trade deal with Australia without careful scrutiny.

UK Brexit minister David Frost and his EU counterpart Maros Sefcovic are meeting in London today (9th June) to discuss the problems facing exports to Northern Ireland as a result of the rules agreed by the UK and EU in the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The protocol has led to shortages of certain products in the province and caused an increase in sectarian tensions, leading the UK government to threaten to further ignore the rules. In response, the EU is threatening court action and the imposition of tariffs if the UK does not meet the obligations set out in the international treaty.

FUW Policy Communications Officer Gareth Parry said: “There are growing tensions politically between the EU and UK, and there are growing tensions on the street, all because of an international agreement the UK negotiated and signed while desperate to meet a self-imposed tight deadline for leaving the EU.

“The problems are exactly what we and others warned of, and now, within months of the protocol coming into force, the UK government has realised how bad the implications are and is having emergency meetings with the EU to try and solve the problem."