Hope grows for farmers

THE Government is to establish a Trade and Agriculture Commission after 18 months of lobbying by the NFU. Writing to NFU president Minette Batters, Liz Truss, the Secretary of State for International Trade, said that any future trade that UK strikes post-brexit ‘must be fair and reciprocal to our farmers, and must not compromise on our high standards of food safety and animal welfare’.

In principle, the commission will not be another ‘quango or regulator’, says Miss Truss, and will be time limited. Once the commission has finished its work, it will produce a report that will be presented to Parliament, the recommendations of which will be advisory only.

It will focus on four areas: to consider what policies the Government should adopt in free-trade agreements to protect British farmers and standards; to reflect consumer interests at home and abroad; how the UK can encourage higher standards to be adopted worldwide; and developing a trade policy that identifies and opens up new export opportunities for UK agriculture.

Mrs Batters calls the commission ‘a hugely important development’ and says that the NFU is looking forward ‘to working with the Government and other stakeholders in the days ahead on the commission’s terms of reference, to ensure that its work is genuinely valuable’.

She adds: ‘The NFU will continue to scrutinise the progress of trade negotiations with the US and other countries over the coming months outside of the work of the commission, so that our future trade deals work for British farmers and consumers, and believe it is vital that Parliament is provided a strengthened role in this regard as well.’