I regularly meet with our local farmers and growers, as well as bodies, such as the West Sussex Growers Association and National Farmers Union. From these meetings, and my many on-site visits, I know in our area we harvest and rear some of the best quality produce and maintain the highest animal welfare standards. I fully recognise the importance of maintaining these standards right across the UK.
The trade deal reached with Australia is an enormous opportunity for the UK. We are Australia’s second largest trading partner outside the Asia-Pacific and trade between our two countries was worth £18.8 billion in 2019. It also paves the way for UK membership of Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – a group of 11 Pacific markets worth £9 trillion.
The deal will eliminate tariffs on all UK goods and support jobs across the country. People under the age of 35 will be able to travel and work in Australia more freely, British tech companies will benefit from enhanced access to the Australian market and there will be greater opportunities for UK professionals and service providers.
The trade agreement also contains a dedicated chapter on animal welfare – the first for an Australian trade deal – and imports to the UK will have to meet the same standards as they did before. This means that imports of hormone-treated beef will continue to be banned in the UK. British farmers will be further protected by a cap on tariff-free imports for 15 years. The Trade and Agriculture Commission will provide independent scrutiny of animal welfare in the deal ahead of its ratification.
Australia also has one of the highest animal welfare standards in the world, similar to our own, and scoring five out of five by the World Organisation of Animal Health (OIE). The practices of castration of chickens and production of foie gras, for example, are banned in Australia on welfare grounds but continue to be permitted in the EU. Imports will still have to meet the same UK food safety and biosecurity standards as they did before. This means, for example, that imports of hormone-treated beef will continue to be banned.
British farmers will be protected by a cap on tariff-free imports using tariff rate quotas and other safeguards. Australia will not have the same access as the EU until 15 years after entry into force of the Agreement. Agricultural producers are also being supported to increase exports overseas including in the Indo-Pacific.
Global demand for meat is increasing rapidly. Meat consumption is projected to rise by nearly 73 per cent by 2050 and free trade agreements create huge new export opportunities for farmers. Demand is growing in the Asia-Pacific. The deal with Australia is also a gateway to joining CPTPP – a group of high-standards Pacific nations.
Every part of the UK is set to benefit from the agreement. Scotland exported £126 million worth of beverages to Australia in 2020 and the deal will remove tariffs of up to 5 per cent on Scotch Whisky. Machinery and manufacturing goods account for 90 per cent of Northern Ireland exports to Australia and the deal will remove tariffs and simplify customs procedures. The more than 450 businesses in Wales that exported to Australia last year will also benefit from the deal.
The trade agreement reached with Australia will not include an Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanism. The Government stated at the outset of negotiations that it would ensure the right to regulate in the public interest continues to be protected in a trade deal and this has been delivered.
More broadly, I welcome the fact that the agreement will include a dedicated chapter on trade and the environment. This will contain provisions encouraging trade and investment in environmental goods and services which support shared environment objectives. For the first time, Australia has also agreed to specific mention of the Paris Agreement in a free trade deal – a deal which also affirms commitments to tackle climate change and acknowledges the role of global trade in these efforts.
The UK is a world leader in tackling climate change. We were the first major economy to legislate to be Net Zero by 2050 and have reduced emission by 44 per cent compared to 1990 levels. We are also phasing out coal power by 2025, 13 years earlier than Germany, and banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, ten years earlier than France.
