- Cross-party EFRA Committee urge the Government to allow
'proper Parliamentary scrutiny' of Australia deal
The Chair of the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs Select Committee has today written to the International
Trade Secretary , calling for
any agreement in principle with Australia to be published as soon
as it is signed off. The Committee highlight the distress and
concern in the farming community caused by reports the UK is
offering a zero-tariff, zero-quote trade deal. He has therefore
called for the key details of the agreement to be made public as
soon as possible, ahead of the agreement of the full legal text
later in the year, to allow scrutiny of potential implications
for UK farmers.
The letter also urges the Government to clarify details of the
Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC), which will play a vital
role in the scrutiny of new Free Trade Agreements. In particular,
the Committee call for the public announcement of the TAC's Chair
and membership, which will, the letter notes, be crucial in
ensuring the TAC's credibility.
Chair of the EFRA Committee, , said:
“UK farmers are worried, having seen press reports of possible
details of the Australia trade agreement. These proposed measures
could have detrimental effects for British producers and
undermine the UK’s ambition to be a global leader on the
sustainable production of food and animal welfare. Parliament’s
job is to ensure that this is not the case- and in order to do
so, we will need to see the proposed agreement as soon as
possible.
"The Trade and Agriculture Commission will be fundamental to the
scrutiny process. The Government's delay appointing a Chair is
wasting time during which Parliament should be working with them
to ensure the best outcome for British farmers and consumers."
A full list of Committee membership can be found here.
