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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government is seeking an agreement with the EU on sanitary measures applicable to trade in live animals and animal products.

The Government is seeking agreement with the EU on a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) chapter as part of the Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement that would cover sanitary measures applicable to trade in live animals and animal products. The chapter should build on the WTO SPS Agreement, in line with recent EU agreements such as CETA and the EU-NZ Veterinary Agreement. It should protect human, animal and plant life and health, and the environment while facilitating access to each party’s market. It should ensure parties’ SPS measures do not create unjustified barriers to trade in agri-food goods between the UK and EU. Finally, it should reflect SPS chapters in other EU preferential trade agreements, including preserving each party’s autonomy over their own SPS regimes.