Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Free Trade Agreement Negotiations: Food and Farming

Thursday 3 September 2020 · 6 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 6 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Minister established an agrifood trade advisory group to involve farmers and food producers in free trade negotiations.
  • The ban on chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef remains in place post-Brexit as per the EU withdrawal Act.
  • NFU Scotland is part of the Trade and Agriculture Commission to advise on future trade policy.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 James Grundy Con Wirral West
Business & Trade Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

MP inquires about the government's engagement with food and farming sectors regarding ongoing free trade agreements.

Question

What steps her Department is taking to engage with the food and farming sector as part of free trade agreement negotiations?

Answer from The Secretary of State for International Trade Elizabeth Truss

We have established an agrifood trade advisory group to ensure that farmers and food producers are involved in the details of our negotiations. We have also launched the Trade and Agriculture Commission to advise and inform on agriculture, trade policies and export opportunities for UK farmers.

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Q2 James Grundy Con Wirral West
Brexit
Context

MP seeks clarification on persistent media rumours regarding the UK's post-Brexit stance on food imports.

Question

Can the Secretary of State confirm that, contrary to persistent rumours in the media, chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef will not be on our supermarket shelves post Brexit?

Answer from The Secretary of State for International Trade Elizabeth Truss

I can confirm that, as part of the EU withdrawal Act, the ban in place on chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef remains after we leave the transition period on 1 January 2021.

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Q3 Angus MacNeil SNP Na h-Eileanan an Iar
Brexit Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

MP addresses the chairman of the Select Committee, raising concerns over food standards and farming policies due to impending hard or no-deal Brexit scenarios.

Question

Will the Secretary of State take this opportunity to ease farmers' anger and consumers' anxiety and state categorically that there will be no changing of food standards or any compromise whatsoever in any trade deal on the high standards of the food that now goes on our supermarket shelves?

Answer from The Secretary of State for International Trade Elizabeth Truss

I can absolutely give the hon. Gentleman that assurance, and I point out that NFU Scotland sits as part of our Trade and Agriculture Commission, looking at future trade policy.

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Q4 Bill Esterson Lab Sefton Central
Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

MP questions the Secretary of State regarding her engagement with NFU Scotland and its stance on food import standards.

Question

Will the Secretary of State confirm that she is at least listening to NFU Scotland, even if she does not agree with it, and will she tell the hon. Member for Moray (Douglas Ross) to give a true account of the NFU's views?

Answer from The Secretary of State for International Trade Elizabeth Truss

My hon. Friend the Member for Moray (Douglas Ross) is a huge champion of Scottish farming and the Scotch whisky industry, and I am working extremely closely with him. I am also working very closely with NFU Scotland, and it is involved in the Trade and Agriculture Commission.

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Q5 Stewart Hosie SNP Dundee East
Brexit Business & Trade Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

MP seeks assurance from the Secretary of State on legislative measures to maintain high food import standards amidst ongoing free trade negotiations.

Question

Given that Which? tells us that 95% of the public want to maintain current food standards, why do this Government continue to rule out real legislative protections in a trade Bill that would accord with the views of our farmers, our doctors and the general public?

Answer from The Secretary of State for International Trade Elizabeth Truss

These standards, such as the ban on chlorinated chicken and hormone-injected beef, are already in UK law as part of the EU withdrawal Act. I have been explicit: it is not a matter for trade policy; it is a matter for our domestic law what standards we have in this country, and we are not trading it away.

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Q6 Alison Thewliss SNP Glasgow Central
Brexit Business & Trade Benefits & Welfare
Context

MP queries the Secretary of State regarding protections for infant formula food standards in future international trade deals.

Question

The standards governing infant formula in the UK are far higher than those in the US. Will the Secretary of State take steps to protect our youngest citizens from the additional sugars and colourants permitted in the United States but banned here?

Answer from The Secretary of State for International Trade Elizabeth Truss

Any product that is sold in the UK has to be subject to the rules of the UK. Those standards are set by Food Standards Scotland and the Food Standards Agency in England and Wales, and those rules will not be changed as part of any trade deal with anyone.

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