Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

UK-Australia Tariff-free Trade in Agricultural Goods

Thursday 15 July 2021 · 2 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The UK and Australia will have tariff-free trade for agricultural goods.
  • The impact of additional market access for beef and lamb has been considered.
  • A 15-year staging period has been implemented to balance market access.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Alistair Carmichael Lib Dem Orkney and Shetland
Business & Trade Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

Discussion about the potential impact of tariff-free trade on UK farmers and crofters.

Question

What assessment she has made of the potential effect of tariff-free trade of agricultural goods between the UK and Australia on UK farmers and crofters?

Answer from Greg Hands

There will be more UK export opportunities for our food and drink industry with the removal of all Australia tariffs. We have considered the impact of additional market access for beef and lamb on UK farmers, which has been balanced by a lengthy 15-year staging period. An independently scrutinised impact assessment will be published prior to implementation.

Answered
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Q2 Alistair Carmichael Lib Dem Orkney and Shetland
Business & Trade Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

Concern raised about the impact of imports from countries with similar trade terms as Australia, focusing specifically on the environmental and social aspects of crofting.

Question

Patrick Krause, chief executive of the Scottish Crofting Foundation, recently made the point that the real risk for Scottish crofters from the Australia deal comes from the fact that other countries with which we do trade deals will want the same good terms that we have given to Australia. How much of that does the Minister think will be said of the products that will be imported to replace crofted lamb?

Answer from Greg Hands

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his engagement and his interest. I have engaged extensively with Scottish farmers, crofters and Martin Kennedy of the National Farmers Union Scotland. On the impact of Australian beef and lamb imports, we think it is very unlikely that there will be a surge in imports into this country. Currently, there are strong incentives for Australia to sell into Asia. The lamb quota is not currently fully used. Beef production prices in Asia are twice what they are in the UK. Australia exports 75% of its beef and 70% of its lamb to Asia.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific risk from similar trade terms for other countries was not directly addressed.

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