Asked by: David Duguid (Conservative - Banff and Buchan)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department plans to take to support the growth of British agriculture (a) at home and (b) in the Australian market.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Our support for exporters is underpinning jobs and economic growth in the agriculture sector at this critical time. In November we launched a refreshed Export Strategy. The strategy is focused on tackling trade barriers, opening new markets, providing the services exporters need to compete in global markets and helping businesses maximise the opportunities generated by new free trade agreements. We support businesses through all stages of their export journey to Australia and other markets, including through our GREAT.gov.uk platform, our Export Academy, our new Export Support Service. We have dedicated agriculture, food and drink trade advisers in the UK and overseas in markets such as Australia to support businesses in taking up these services.
Asked by: David Duguid (Conservative - Banff and Buchan)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what specific measures she has secured in the trade agreement with Australia to protect British agricultural interests from unfair trading practices.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) includes various instruments to protect British agricultural interests. Quotas on products such as beef set a maximum level for tariff-free imports for up to 10 years. Product specific safeguards for beef and lamb allow the UK to impose higher tariffs when imports exceed a certain threshold in years 10 to 15. On lamb, quota and safeguard volumes can be periodically reduced by 25% when fill rates are high. Additionally, a general bilateral safeguard mechanism allows for the temporary withdrawal of tariff preferences which will protect industry.
Asked by: David Duguid (Conservative - Banff and Buchan)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate she has made of the economic value of the lifting of the ban on British lamb imports to the US for (a) Scotland and (b) Banff and Buchan.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
We are pleased that US Department of Agriculture is looking to remove their import restrictions on sheep meat. Restoring access to the US will provide a great opportunity for British producers, including those in Banff and Buchan, to export their high-quality product to a valuable new market that will increase in value as trade becomes more established.