Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department's red lines are for negotiations on a UK–EU sanitary and phytosanitary agreement; and what assessment she has made of the the potential merits of retaining the ability to restrict the import and sale of animal products produced using methods that would be illegal in the UK.

Defra is currently negotiating a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and regulatory barriers for British producers and retailers.

The EU has accepted there will need to be a number of areas where we need to retain our own rules. The details of these are subject to negotiation, but the Government has been clear about the importance of being able to set high animal welfare standards.