‘Welsh lamb could lose out under UK-Australia trade deal’

SOME famous British goods – including Welsh lamb – could lose out under the UK trade deal with Australia, a Commons committee has said.

The International Trade Committee chairman criticised “flat-footed” government negotiating tactics, as cross-party MPs flagged concerns that household-name British products are set to lose out under the first full trade deal to be signed since Brexit.

The Department of International Trade (DIT) hit back at that criticism, accusing the committee of “fundamentally misunderstanding” the trade deal provisions and stressing that protections do indeed exist aside from so-called “geographic indications”.

The deal has been heralded by the government as the first negotiated from scratch since leaving the EU amid a promise that it would leave the country £2.3bn better off.

But the International Trade Committee yesterday warned the government against overselling the benefits of the deal, and called for a full assessment of the winners and losers from the agreement with Australia.

“The government must level with the public – this trade deal will not have the transformative effects ministers would like to claim,” said International Trade Committee chairman Angus Brendan MacNeil.

A spokesman for the Department for International Trade rejected the suggestion that some famous products could be threatened. They said: “This fundamentally misunderstands the fact that Australia does not currently have a geographical indications (GIs) scheme for agricultural products, foodstuffs or spirits.

“Should they introduce such a scheme, we have agreed to review our agreement with Australia to ensure UK’s finest products are protected.”