TRADE NEGOTIATIONS - A STEEP LEARNING CURVE

Peter Lilley once said that a trade deal with the EU should take no more than ten minutes. Liam Fox said it should be the easiest trade deal in history. Well fantasy just had a serious coming together with reality. One of the first things we needed to do was to separate our Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs) from those of the EU. 

FOOD PRICE AND AVAILABILITY

The 14th report from the lord's EU Committee about food is a worrying read. The Committee took evidence from a wide range of organisations and experts and as far as I can see, without exception, they were all concerned about Brexit and how it would impact the cost and availability of food supplies. George Eustice, the Junior DEFRA Minister appeared to the committee to be utterly complacent, although they didn't actually say that. What they did say, among other things, was, "The Minister’s suggestion of minimal checks on EU imports appears at odds with the Government’s obligations under the WTO and its commitment to maintain food safety and animal welfare standards", which amounts to the same thing I think.

A STRIKING CONTRAST

The Lord's EU, Energy and Environment Committee has released a report (HERE) which concludes food prices will rise if we exit the the EU without a free trade deal. This is completely contrary to what Brexiteer professor Patrick Minford has claimed but it's not surprising is it? After all we import a lot of food from Europe and putting tariffs on, and sometimes quite big tariffs, will add to the price. But of all the things in the Guardian coverage there was one statement that stood out.

NOW ITS DUTCH FARMERS TO OUR RESCUE

Before the referendum it was German car makers who would apply pressure on their government to reach a deal with us that guaranteed frictionless trade. But that's all forgotten now that it's obvious they won't be helping us out, so it will apparently have to be Dutch and Belgium farmers who are going to put the pressure on - according to our Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling (HERE). 

FARMERS INCOME SLASHED BY HALF IN A HARD BREXIT

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board have carried out a detailed study of what might happen to the farming sector in the event of various outcomes from the negotiations (HERE). They believe that if we exit the EU without a trade deal in place, farm incomes will be cut from an average of £38,000 to just £15,000.  I assume there will be some farmers who will be listening with some nervousness to the hard Brexiteers and their call for us to leave on WTO terms.

FOOD PRICES

This article (HERE) by the Director of food policy at the British Retail Consortium is a warning about what a no deal exit and trade under WTO terms would mean for food prices in the UK. A quarter of the food sold by major retailers is imported and of that, 80% comes from Europe. If we fall back on WTO tariffs for prices are likely to rise for many basic foodstuffs.

DANIEL HANNAN AND IMPORTING FOOD

Daniel Hannan makes some startling assertions from time to time but this weekend in The Telegraph (HERE) he claims we should "embrace depending on the rest of the world for our food". How the farming community and Julian Sturdy, MP for York Outer and farmer will take this I don't know. They are calling for more home grown food so that we are less reliant on overseas suppliers.

ANIMAL WELFARE POST BREXIT

A House of Lords Committee has produced a report on animal welfare after Brexit (HERE) which raises concerns about reducing the high standards that we have at present as members of the EU. It is very comprehensive with clickable links to the written evidence provided by various bodies representing all the many different sectors in livestock farming and food processing.