NFU is ‘very concerned’ about trade with Europe
Farming organisations have warned that the industry will hold the UK government to account if the poorly organised preparations for freight travelling to Europe results in chaos in the face of the growing risk that no free trade deal will be reached with the European Union before the end of the year.
Earlier this week the government published its Reasonable Worst Case S ce - nario for B orders, which flagged up the possibility of between 40 and 70 per cent of lorries not being prepared for lengthy border checks and the likelihood of mile-long queues at crossing points after the transition period ends of 1 January.
Responding to this, English NFU president Minette Batters said :“The EU remains the most important market for British agri-food exports and we are very concerned about how trade across borders will operate at the end of the transition period.”
Adding the farming voice to calls made earlier in the month from meat exporters, she said that across the whole of the UK the entire farming sector was extremely worried about the prospect of fresh, perish able produce being left to rot in lorries sat in queues miles long, waiting to cross the Channel.
“And we take no reassurance in UK ministers, or the EU Commission officials, blaming each other for a lack of preparedness,” she said.
She added that despite the fact that some questions could not be answered until the trade ne go ti ati ons with the EU were completes, more could be done to help hauliers prepare for the end of transition.
And she called on the UK government to redouble its efforts in the time remaining to secure a trade deal with the EU that avoided tariff sand addressed as many of the concerns as possible relating to friction at the border.
“This must include agreeing that UK and EU rules will remain equivalent in terms of animal products, organics and phytosanitar y considerations,” she added.
● NF US cot land ye st erday welcomed Lord Curry’s amendment to the UK Agriculture Bill made in the recent House of Lords debate which would give more power to the UK Trade and Agriculture Commission.
The backing came on the same day as the amendment which would ensure that imported food had to meet the same safety, welfare and environmental standards was also give the green light by the upper chamber.
The Curry Amendment would allow Parliament to be provided with inde - pendent advice about the impact which ever y trade deal would have on the country’ s food and farming standards by the Trade and Agriculture Commission, on whichNFU Scotland president Andrew Mccornick sits.
In a statement, the union said: “We believe the role of the Trade and Agriculture Commission is crucial to providing proper parliamentary oversight of our future trade policy and it is encouraging to see peers support this view.”
The union also said that the vote in the House of Lords reflected the level of support for the issue in the country at large–adding that it would be encouraging MPS not to ignore this strength of feeling when the bill returned to the House of Commons in early October.