Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the tariff reductions the Government agreed on the 15 June 2021 for Australian agricultural exports to the UK will apply to meat produced from livestock treated with growth-promoting antibiotics.

The UK is a world leader in the battle against antimicrobial resistance – significantly cutting its use of antibiotics in farming. The Government have reached agreement with Australia to cooperate on combatting anti-microbial resistance, including a commitment to ensure appropriate use of and reduced need for antibiotics.

Imports to the UK will still have to meet the same UK food safety and biosecurity import standards, including clear controls on limits of veterinary medicine residues in meat and other animal products, as they did before. The use of antibiotics as growth promoters in animal feed remains banned in the UK under retained EU law.