Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her policy on the trade terms on agriculture agreed in principle with Australia (a) will or (b) will not become the standard terms to be offered to other countries with lower food and animal welfare standards.

All trade deals are different, and tailored to the relationships and markets of the countries involved. However, the Government has committed that it will never lower food standards. The UK’s food standards are overseen independently by the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland. Decisions on these standards are made separately from any trade agreements.

The UK-Australia trade deal does not compromise our animal welfare high standards and does not create new permissions for imports from Australia.