Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Scotland of 23 June 2021, Official Report 842, on safeguards to stop the UK market being flooded with beef or experiencing a collapse in price following the trade agreement with Australia, if she will publish details of those safeguards referred to.

Any deal the Government signs with Australia will include protections for the agriculture industry and will not undercut UK farmers unfairly or compromise the UK’s high animal welfare standards. Beef imports from Australia account for only a tiny fraction of the UK’s overall beef imports – around 0.5% in 2020.

Throughout negotiations the Government has listened closely to the concerns of farmers and other stakeholders. The Government has agreed 15 years of capped tariff free imports from Australia. In addition, a general bilateral safeguard mechanism will provide a safety net for industry if they face serious injury from increased imports as a direct consequence of the Free Trade Agreement. This applies to all products.

Further details on what has been agreed is available on gov.uk.