ICMSA pick ‘Brexit Day’ to repeat that Irish farming and food must have a Free Trade Agreement with UK
WITH the UK having formally left the EU on Friday 31st January, the President of ICMSA has repeated his Association’s conviction that the immediate viability of Irish farming and food depends on concluding an all-encompassing Free Trade Deal with the UK in the negotiations which will start probably in March. Pat McCormack said that given our centuries-old food trade with the UK today is a day of huge disappointment for Irish farmers and the wider agri-food sector.
“There’s no escaping the fear that what we could end up with would represent a downgrade on the relationship we’ve enjoyed with our British customers for centuries. But on a positive note, the UK is leaving with an agreement that includes a transition period. The challenge now is that the next Government and the EU use that transition period to ensure that a Free Trade Agreement is concluded that retains to the greatest degree possible the present level of access to the UK. We still need that tariff-free and quota-free access on the basis of the scale of exports to the UK across all sectors of farming”, said Mr McCormack.
The ICMSA President pointed out that the farming has been the most exposed sector since the Brexit vote in June 2016 and he noted that this exposure to market uncertainty had been felt acutely felt in all sectors in 2019 “particular, the beef sector where farmers suffered heavy losses throughout the year and indeed still continuing into 2020. These losses need to be addressed in full and for all farmers”, he continued.
Mr. McCormack said Irish farming needed both sides to engage early and meaningfully and the EU and the next Government must avoid the kind of uncertainty that surrounded the Withdrawl Agreement and caused so much disruption and financial loss to the farm sector. “We’ ll need a clear plan and strategy that addresses all possible outcomes in the trade negotiations”, he said.
“The EU left farmers exposed during the Withdrawl negotiations and serious financial losses were the result. That scenario cannot be repeated in 2020 and beyond, and so we have to commit to securing a Free Trade Agreement and confirming that any Brexit-related losses will be dealt with in full and for all farmers”, he concluded.