The trade agreements that the UK concluded with Australia and New Zealand in 2022 will enter into force on 31 May 2023.
Since then, the NFU has strongly criticised the outcomes of the two negotiations because the FTAs (Free Trade Agreements) eliminate tariffs for agricultural products.
This means that for sensitive sectors like beef and lamb, dairy and horticulture, in time, there will be no limit to the number of goods Australia and New Zealand can export to the UK.
In addition, there appears to be little in those trade deals to benefit British farmers.
UK farm businesses face significantly higher production costs than farmers in Australia and New Zealand, and margins are likely to tighten further in the face of rising input costs, higher energy bills and labour shortages.
“It’s clear that UK farmers have very little to gain from these two deals; instead we are pushing the government to focus its trade efforts on opening up markets where there’s a genuine opportunity for UK agriculture to grow our sales of fantastic products overseas.”
NFU President Minette Batters
TRQs (Tariff Rate Quotas)
Australia
| UK-Australia FTA | Year 1 (pro rata) | Liberalisation |
|---|---|---|
|
Beef |
20,616.438t |
After 10 years + 5 years safeguards |
|
Lamb |
14,726.27t |
After 10 years + 5 years safeguards |
|
Cheese |
14,136.986t |
After 5 years |
|
Sugar |
26,958.904t |
After 8 years |
|
Butter |
3,239.726t |
After 5 years |
|
Wheat |
47,123.288t |
After 4 years |
|
Barley |
4,123.288t |
After 4 years |
|
All other goods tariffs will be eliminated at entry into force of the agreement |
||
New Zealand
| UK-New Zealand FTA | Year 1 (pro rata) | Liberalisation |
|---|---|---|
|
Beef |
7,068.493t |
After 10 years + 5 years safeguards |
|
Lamb |
20,616.438t cwe |
After 15 years |
|
Cheese |
14,136.986t |
After 5 years |
|
Butter |
4,123.288t |
After 5 years |
|
Apples |
20,000t |
After 3 years |
|
Onions, shallots, new potatoes, beans, cider apples |
Duties removed in eight equal annual reductions beginning on the date of entry into force. |
After 8 years |
|
All other goods tariffs (except fresh pears, cherries, dried pears and apples, wheat, meslin, barley, malt, roasted malt) will be eliminated at entry into force of the agreement |
||
NFU President Minette Batters said: “Confirmation that the UK’s new trade deals with Australia and New Zealand FTAs will come into force at the end of May brings into sharp focus the need for our government to monitor the ongoing and cumulative impacts for our farmers and growers of the inevitable tougher trading environment they will face.
“It’s clear that UK farmers have very little to gain from these two deals; instead, we are pushing the government to focus its trade efforts on opening up markets where there's a genuine opportunity for UK agriculture to grow our sales of fantastic products overseas.”
Food safety standards
Minette Batters went on, “While it is reassuring that these deals will not result in a change in our food safety standards here – for example, imports of hormone-reared beef will still be banned – we must ensure that the government's commitment to uphold the UK’s food safety standards in all deals it negotiates remains unwavering.”
We need to see the government working with farmers to develop a set of core environmental and animal welfare standards that it can seek to safeguard through forthcoming FTAs and its general import policy under its current WTO commitments.
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