Australia trade deal ‘good for farmers’

BORIS Johnson said farmers will have a “fantastic opportunity” as part of free-trade deals, as reports suggest the UK Government is on the verge of signing a post-Brexit agreement with Australia.

Downing Street said “negotiations are still ongoing” with Canberra, despite several reports claiming ministers on Thursday had resolved their differences over the terms of a deal.

There had been concerns – said to have been aired around the Cabinet table by Environment Secretary and Camborne and Redruth MP George Eustice and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove – about the impact a zero-quota arrangement with Australia could have on British meat produce, particularly beef and lamb, which has to reach higher standards.

Farmers in the Westcountry, rearing animals to high welfare standards on smaller family farms could be among those most badly affected.

But The Sun reported that the Prime Minister is set to offer Australia

a 15-year transition to a zero-tariff, zero-quota trade pact, with the free trade arguments of International Trade Secretary Liz Truss and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng being successful.

The Prime Minister, asked about the prospective deal yesterday, said he wanted the UK to “see these new openings not as threats but as opportunities” as he praised the benefits of free trade. Mr Johnson said: “We are certainly looking at doing free trade deals with countries around the world I do think that free trade deals present a fantastic opportunity for our farmers, for businesses of all kinds, and for manufacturers.

He said the UK was a “great historic free-trading nation” that grew to prosperity thanks to free trade