Scots and Northern Irish team up over Australia trade deal

In a joint letter to the UK's Department for International Trade, the rural affairs ministers of Scotland and Northern Ireland have reiterated their concerns over both the approach and progress of the UK-Australia free trade agreement negotiations.

Scottish Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon and Northern Irish Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Edwin Poots, have sought reassurance from the UK Government that the deal with Australia will not damage their domestic farming sectors, and warned that the mooted fifteen-year cap on imports was unlikely to provide comfort for farming communities.

Messrs Gougeon and Poots have also asked for clarification about the deal's underpinning risk assessments and how it is consistent with the UK's wider ambitions to tackle climate change. They also ask that the devolved administrations be consulted around remaining issues that have not been agreed yet.

The text of the joint letter, sent to Secretary of State for International Trade, Liz Truss, is as follows:

"We are writing to stress again the significant concerns that we have over both the approach and progress of the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement, or FTA, negotiations.

Those concerns were amplified following the announcement on June 15 that an Agreement in Principle had been reached. We know that the Welsh Government has also written to the UK Minister of State for Trade Policy, Greg Hands MP, in similar terms.

We have previously stressed to you, and remain extremely concerned following the recent announcement, that the UK Government is signing up to a deal that would lead to a sustained increase in imports of Australian agri-food and produced to lesser standards in relation to animal welfare and future environmental commitments. As you know, agriculture and food standards are devolved responsibilities. We have been clear that where there is an increase in imports of Australian agri-food, this must be managed by tariff rate quotas that are not eroded over time. This is to ensure that domestic producers are protected and not disproportionally impacted. A proposed fifteen-year cap on imports will provide no comfort for our farming communities and would set a very damaging precedent for future FTAs yet to be agreed.

We are also concerned by the size of the quotas which after 15 years equate to 16% of UK beef consumption and 49% of UK sheepmeat consumption. Clearly if Australian exports reach anything close to these levels, we can expect a very significant negative impact on our agri-food sector. We are not reassured about claims that Australia will not be exporting significant amounts of beef to the UK or is seeking to replace imports from other countries. Australia is a very significant beef exporter and has the potential to increase exports further with a view to targeting the UK market. It would be very surprising that Australia would have been so insistent on achieving a rapid and very sizeable increase in market access with the intention of making little use of it.

We have also sought assurances before about a range of broader issues linked to this deal. These include, for example, asking for clarification about underpinning risk assessments and how a trade deal with Australia is consistent with wider ambitions to tackle climate change as, if there is divergence, this could place domestic producers at a further disadvantage. It is essential that you now share a full impact assessment of the agreed deal with the devolved administrations so we can see the impact on all sectors.

The Agreement in Principle document is high level and there is a lot of detail that we have not yet seen. It is now vital that further detail on what has been agreed is shared with the devolved administrations and that we have early sight of the legal text. We also need to be consulted around remaining issues that have not been agreed yet.

The UK Government has indicated that the deal includes a non-regression clause on animal welfare standards, albeit Australian standards are already different and so from a standing start, domestic producers would likely still be at a disadvantage. We will be looking at this clause very closely while also considering the detail of any other safeguards. In the meantime, based on what we do know and pending that further due process, we are taking this opportunity to stress again the concerns that we have as we have little faith that these concerns are currently being taken seriously."

This letter, signed by Mairi Gougeon and Edwin Poots, was copied to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Secretary of State for Scotland, the Chancellor of Duchy of Lancaster, the Minister of State for Trade Policy, the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales in the Welsh Government, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and the Minister for the Economy in the Northern Ireland Executive.