WTO rules ‘are stricter than EU’

While EU rules and regulations have been criticised over the years for being overly complex and inhibiting, the UK could face even greater burdens if it was to opt to work under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) option, it has been claimed.

Speaking at NFU Scotland’s autumn conference Scotland’s Brexit secretary Mike Russell MSP said that failing to reach any trade agreement with the EU and being forced in the default WTO position would throw the country into “absolute chaos”.

“And while the UK government might be singing the praises of free trade, it seems somewhat odd that they should decide to leave the world’s largest freetrading block – which also has 53 free trade deals in operation with other countries,” he said.

Russell said that one of the few areas of agreement between the EU and the UK reached in the Brexit negotiation had been how the share of the EU’S tariff rate quotas (TRQ’S) – concessions on tariffs payable on goods imported from third countries – would be split up after Brexit.

“However, this had an immediate objection lodged with the WTO – with the countries benefiting from the TRQ’S claiming that it undermined their ability to use commercial considerations when targeting sales,” he added.

He said that WTO objections were also likely to be faced over domestic farm support measures and although, as an existing member, the UK was unlikely to undergo the requirement to remove all farm support measures which would be faced by a new member, the country’s shares of the EU’S green, blue and amber box support measures was likely to be challenged.