‘Deal of little benefit to UK’

Farm leaders say the UK-NEW Zealand trade deal offers little benefit to farmers and crofters in the UK.

Representatives from a number of farming organisations, including NFU Scotland (NFUS), made the comments during an evidence session to the House of Lords International Agreements Committee.

NFU Cymru political adviser Hugh Rhys Thomas said the union struggled to see any benefits of the deal to its members.

“We see the risks as many and the opportunities as few,” Mr Thomas told the committee.

“We are talking about opening a market of 66 million people in exchange for access to a market of around five million people so there’s a huge asymmetry as well in terms of the opportunities flowing either way.”

NFUS political affairs manager Beatrice Morrice said it was unclear how tariff rate quotas in the deal would be implemented, making it difficult to assess its short-term impact on Scottish farmers.

However, in the longterm, Ms Morrice said the union was concerned about the precedent set by the deal.

She said: “We have great concerns with regards to the precedent it sets with regards future trade deals that are being negotiated by the Government going forward.”

Ulster Farmers’ Union president Victor Chestnutt agreed with the concerns and said: “We are very concerned about other countries in the world also expecting a similar deal.”

Mr Chestnutt, who sat on the first Trade and Agriculture Commission, said he felt “used and abused” during his time on the interim body.

He said it took the UK Government eight months to reply to the recommendations of the commission, during which time they had signed trade deals with Australia and New Zealand.

Mr Chestnutt added: “We envisaged at the time there would be a new Trade and Agriculture Commission that would be set up to help the negotiators as they negotiated.

“Now the new Trade and Agriculture Commission will look over the trade deal after it is completed and has been signed.

“I think that’s a case of shutting the door after the horse has bolted. We are very disappointed with how government tore ahead with this.”

FEELING SHEEPISH: Farm leaders are doubtful a new UK-NEW Zealand trade deal will help UK crofters and farmers.