NFU demands action on impending tariff burden
As the country lurches forward into the political unknown, NFU Scotland has urged the UK Secretary of State for International Trade, Elizabeth Truss, to look at the tariffs that will be imposed with a no-deal Brexit.
The union has described the current tariff schedule, published earlier this year, as “catastrophic” and one that “severely exposes” some agricultural sectors, such as cereals, to being undermined by substandard goods flooding the UK.
NFUS has copied the letter to the Scottish cabinet secretary for rural economy, Fergus Ewing, and has invited further discussions with him with a view to jointly challenging the UK government on its stance.
Backing up the move, union president Andrew Mccornick said, “Scotland’s reputation, built on provenance and high production standards, should be at the heart of the UK government’s ambition to strike trading arrangements in new export markets.”
According to Mccornick, the union position was in the best interests of Scottish agricultural, food and drink businesses and it supported the ambition to double the value of food and drink exports to £30 billion by 2030.
“Instead, we are being increasingly undermined by pursuit of a no-deal Brexit and the prospect of a hugely damaging tariff schedule.
Commenting on the tariffs, he said: “Whilst the stated intention is that some agricultural products will be deemed sensitive, the crushing reality is that cereals, potatoes, fruit, vegetables and eggs will not have the same level of protection.
“By excluding these sectors, the UK government is failingtorecognisethatthe impact of a no-deal Brexit will be felt severely across every agricultural sector.”
Such an approach to different sectors severely exposed those with no tariff protection to competition from agricultural goods, produced, according to the union, to lower standards that are potentially illegal in the UK. This producecouldfloodtheuk market tariff-free.
“In NFU Scotland’s view, this is wholly unacceptable. The UK government must review its approach to tariffs immediately or be prepared to respond to massive market disruption and take corrective actions to ensure that Scottish and other UK farmers are not financially disadvantaged by its tariff approach.
“We want to work closely with the Scottish Government to develop and jointly put forward common sense solutions to the import tariff situation and any review carried out by UK government. As a result, NFUS has invited Cabinet Secretary Fergus Ewing for further discussions.”