A Cumbrian MP says he is cautious about the UK’s trade deal with Australia.
The UK Government says the deal will eliminate tariffs on all UK goods and boost jobs and businesses across the country.
Penrith MP Neil Hudson issued the following statement about the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement: “Broadly, I welcome the possibility of a mutually-beneficial trade deal between our two nations but it has to be the right one that recognises that whilst we have so much in common with our friends in Australia, our economies are different and any trade deal should reflect that.
“For example, when it comes to livestock farms the costs of production are much lower in Australia and they have very different animal husbandry methods to us; I say this as someone who has worked as a vet on farms both in the UK and Australia.
“It is vital that we have a thriving UK food production industry that is not undercut by imports. I share the concerns of farmers in Cumbria and the UK about the deal and we need to evaluate it fully when it is published.
“I am pleased the Government has listened to my call for tariff rate quotas to be used as a safeguard for the UK agricultural sector. I continue to call for urgent meaningful parliamentary scrutiny of the trade deal and for the Trade and Agriculture Commission to be reconstituted immediately.
“I will stand up our farmers and our high animal welfare standards and will continue to fight for them in Parliament.”
