Brexit fears have been torn apart after farmers were warned of floods of cheap Aussie beef – with nothing of the sort yet to materialise.
One year ago post Brexit deals with Australia and New Zealand came into force beginning Britain’s free trade agreement with the two countries Down Under. The moment was applauded by the government as “historic” despite critics arguing they give away “far too much for far too little” – claiming the deals especially disadvantaged British farmers.
The agreements were negotiated by Liz Truss during her time as trade secretary, but George Eustice, who was the environment secretary when the UK-Australia trade pact was finalised in December 2021, actually admitted it was “not actually a very good deal” for Britain.
Fears of lamb imports stoked fears into British farmers with criticis believing the deal was one sided.
Both deals will ultimately result in the countries obtaining tariff-free access to the UK market for beef and lamb. However, the floodgates have yet to open.
Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers Union (NFU) said: “The sector was always aware that in year one we wouldn’t suddenly start seeing a huge volume of imports from Australia and New Zealand.
“We’ve seen New Zealand lamb coming in; we’ve seen some Australian products coming in. But at the moment they are not at levels that would have exceeded the previous quota they had access to.”
Mr Bradshaw is however concerned about the “long-term implications.”
He said: “Our concern about this has always been the long-term implications and the precedent it sets for future trade deals.”
“Once you’ve said we’re willing to remove all quotas from our trade deals then that’s the starting negotiating point for other deals in the future.”
