Plaid Cymru’s agriculture spokesperson in Westminster, Ben Lake MP has today (Wednesday 31 May) raised concerns over the negative impact of the UK-Australia and UK-New Zealand trade deals on the Welsh economy.
With the agreements coming into force at midnight, Mr Lake has urged the UK Government to involve the devolved nations in future trade deals given UK ministers’ “evident failure to champion the interests of the Welsh economy”.
Under the terms of the Australia and New Zealand trade deals, tariffs on agricultural products will be eliminated in stages, which Plaid Cymru has warned will harm Welsh agriculture in the long term. The removal of tariffs raises concerns about the impact that unrestricted imports from Australia and New Zealand, particularly in sensitive sectors such as beef, lamb, dairy, and horticulture, which could adversely affect Welsh farmers and the broader economy.
Ben Lake said that the UK had “willingly granted extensive and ultimately unrestricted access to our markets for beef, lamb, and dairy products from two major agricultural nations, all in pursuit of convenient political headlines”.
Mr Lake urged the UK Government to acknowledge the cumulative impact that these trade deals will have on Welsh farming. He added that this was particularly important in a context in which the UK Government is reported to be in discussions with Canada and Mexico regarding potential trade agreements.
Ben Lake MP said:
"The commencement of the UK-Australia and UK-New Zealand trade deals marks the beginning of a worrying chapter for Welsh farming. The removal of tariffs on agricultural products in these trade deals established a dangerous precedent which other nations will almost certainly use when negotiating with the UK Government.
“Plaid Cymru warned of the impact that this dangerous precedent would set, and it is disappointing the UK Government decided to concede on this point for negligible gains. The UK has willingly granted extensive and ultimately unrestricted access to our markets for beef, lamb, and dairy products from two major agricultural nations, all in pursuit of convenient political headlines.
“The ramifications of these trade deals for the Welsh economy are serious. Agriculture employs over 52,800 people and constitutes 3.2 percent of workforce jobs, a figure notably surpassing the UK average of 1.1 percent. In rural areas such as my own constituency of Ceredigion, agriculture, forestry, and fishing represent over 12 percent of the local workforce.
“As negotiations progress with Canada and Mexico, it is crucial that market protections are upheld. The UK Government's evident failure to champion the interests of the Welsh economy in previous negotiations underlines the importance of according the devolved nations a role in future talks.”
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