Agricultural Exports from Australia: Tariffs Debate
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Duncan Baker
Main Page: Duncan Baker (Conservative - North Norfolk)Department Debates - View all Duncan Baker's debates with the Department for International Trade
Agricultural Exports from Australia: Tariffs
Duncan Baker Excerpts(3 years, 6 months ago)
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Greg Hands
I refer the hon. Lady back to the fact that Australia is highly rated by independent bodies for its high quality of animal health, rated five out of five by the World Organisation for Animal Health, and our import standards would not change as a result of this or any other free trade agreement.
Duncan Baker (North Norfolk) (Con)
It seems that the animal welfare and food standards scaremongering is out in full force again. Does my right hon. Friend agree that given that Australia’s food standards are better than the European Union’s and that its animal welfare is equivalent to the United Kingdom’s, a free trade agreement with us will have an absolutely negligible impact on our own high UK standards?
Greg Hands
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. As we have said repeatedly, there will be no compromise on our own standards. I agree that Australia ranks very well overall. Obviously its standards are different, but overall its animal welfare standards rank extremely highly—five out of five. As I said, it banned practices that are prevalent in the EU, such as the castration of chickens and the production of foie gras. It is not a simple like-for-like comparison. The most important thing to note, though, is that our import standards will not be changed as a result of the deal.