What is the Australia trade deal?
The trade deal with Australia will be the first big post-Brexit trade deal negotiated by the UK government, that is not a ‘rollover’ of existing agreements the UK enjoyed as an EU member. It is a symbolic moment for those arguing for the benefits of free trade.
What is the issue of concern for British farmers?
The UK government has decided to grant tariff-free access to the British market for Australian farmers, phased in over a period of years. If the deal is ratified, beef and sheep meat tariffs (extra charges, similar to a tax, that importers have to pay) will be eliminated after ten years and sugar tariffs eliminated after eight years. In both the beef and sheep meat sectors, a further safeguard will mean a 20% tariff can apply for volumes above a certain limit (170,000t and 125,000t respectively) for a further five years, bringing the length of time in which UK farmers will have some protection to 15 years.
Read the views of the sugar board and livestock board and dairy for more detail, plus information on the different standards of production in Australia.
While some details of the agreement have been announced, such as the tariffs above, the full text of the agreement in principle has yet to be published. 91²Ö¿âawaits further details of the agreement to properly understand and analyse what it will mean for its members.
Why is it important to British farmers?
Without the UK government imposing tariffs on imported products in this trade deal, many British farmers – especially those who rear beef cattle and sheep – may not be able to compete because of the differences in economy of scale, production methods and standards. Australia believes beef imports could displace Irish beef in the UK, and any increase in lamb volumes could displace imported New Zealand volumes. This may be the case in the short term, but given the sheer volume of product a major agricultural exporter like Australia can produce and sell, there is no guarantee that under such pressure, UK producers will not face damaging price falls.
Granting Australia complete free access to the UK’s market could also set a precedent for other future trade deals. The US, for instance, may demand the same unrestricted access for their beef as has been granted to Australia in any future trade negotiations.
What is the NFU calling for?
Responding to the UK government’s announcement of an agreement in principle, NFU President Minette Batters said: “While details remain very thin on the ground, it appears that the agreement will include important safeguards that attempt to strike a balance between liberalising trade and supporting UK farm businesses, as well as a reasonable time period to allow UK farmers to adjust to the new trading environment.
“We await further details of the agreement to understand whether these safeguards are sufficient, and in particular that they can be deployed effectively should imports rise to an unmanageable level leading to significant market disruption." Read more from Minette here:
- NFU responds to UK-Australia trade agreement in principle (15/06/2021)
- NFU statement on UK-Australia trade negotiations (21/05/2021)
- Government must stand up for farmers in Australia and NZ deals (17/05/2021)
The NFU, alongside a range of UK farming bodies, is calling for the government to stand up for British farmers in all its negotiations and adhere to five principles that are of crucial importance to UK food and farming in the negotiations:
- Upholding our high standards of production and positioning the UK as a global leader in sustainable farming and in tackling climate change.
- Recognising the specific sensitivities of some UK farming sectors, such as beef and sheep, in the current negotiations.
- Balancing improved access and lower tariffs for agricultural imports with quotas and other safeguards to avoid irreversible damage to UK farming.
- Ensuring any trade deal is genuinely reciprocal and that the benefits properly reflect how valuable UK market access is for foreign exporters.
- Acknowledging that these deals will establish precedents that will be reflected in all our trade deals.
What else is the NFU doing?
As well as coordinating with a range of UK farming organisations, the NFU has been on the front foot explaining to prominent national journalists the importance of a fair trade deal for British farmers at two specially convened press conferences. You can read all about our work with the media on the trade deal in our round-up. At the same time, officeholders and NFU experts have been speaking to senior ministers, MPs and civil servants about the importance of the five principles outlined above.
What happens next?
Any parliamentary scrutiny of the deal is likely to take place in the autumn, where MPs will have the opportunity to see the detail. This will also be when the Trade and Agriculture Commission reports on the deal’s impact on standards of animal welfare, environment and human, animal, plant life or health. Read Food standards: why an official Trade and Agriculture Commission is a victory for British farming for more information. After this, MPs could have a debate on the deal but a vote in the House of Commons is not required to ratify the deal. However, one could be taken if enough MPs support one. It is only after these steps are all completed that the UK and Australia will ratify the deal and enter into a legally binding international treaty between each other. As this is the first free trade deal that has been renegotiated since Brexit it is hard to tell how long this process will take.
91²Ö¿âcontinues to make the case for fair trade deals, and highlight the damage a bad deal could cause to UK agriculture at the highest levels of government.
Comparing farming standards
If you're wondering what the difference is between UK and Australian farming standards, check out this Facebook post from Red Tractor.
Keep up to date with the latest developments by downloading the free NFU mobile app exclusively for NFU members to your phone, and follow on Twitter.
More from 91²Ö¿â:
- Read NFU Dairy board chair Michael Oakes' views on the Australia-UK trade deal.
- Read NFU Livestock board chair Richard Findlay's response to the Australia-UK trade deal.
- Read NFU Sugar board chair Michael Sly's opinion on the Australia-UK trade deal.
- Read how the NFU joined calls for government to stand up for farmers in Australia and NZ deals
