Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an estimate of how many UK cheese exporters will have to pay full tariffs on exports to Canada as a result of changes to the trading agreement.

In the 12 months leading to and including October 2023, the UK exported 1.9 kilotonnes worth of cheese to Canada. This represented 1.1% of the UK’s global exports of cheese in this period.

The UK remains eligible for the tariff-free ‘non-EU Reserve’ of Canada’s WTO Cheese Tariff Rate Quota of 6.1 kilotonnes.

As of 1 January 2024, UK exporters need to ensure the Canadian importer they are partnering with has the correct import licence. Upon entry into force, UK exporters will also be able to access CPTPP quotas providing for 16.5 KT of cheese exports to Canada a year.