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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce regulatory requirements for food exporters trading with the EU.

The UK and EU are like-minded partners with similarly high standards. The Government has committed to seek to negotiate a veterinary/sanitary and phytosanitary agreement to help boost trade, reduce trade friction and deliver benefits to businesses and consumers in the UK and the EU. The Government has been clear that there will be no return to the customs union or single market. The Government is ambitious and wants to move forward at pace, but delivering new agreements will take time.

Additionally, Defra has recently posted two new agri-food attachés to the British Embassies in Paris and Madrid, who will help reduce regulatory requirements for food exporters to Europe. Their primary role will be to improve market access for UK producers to Europe. They will work directly with Member States across the EU to reduce trade frictions by identifying and resolving barriers faced by UK exporters.