EU deal with New Zealand exposes flaws in the UK trade deal

After scrutinising the new trade deal that the EU recently struck with New Zealand, farmers here in the UK are claiming that it highlights the shortcomings of the UK’s deal with NZ. They say the European deal contains much more protection against cheap imports with much tighter control on quotas.

Chris Southworth, Director of the International Chamber of Commerce explained to BBC’s Farming Today just how extensive the access for beef and sheep meat will be to the UK compared to the EU, and the numbers are staggering. He says that the volume of sheep meat eventually able to come into the UK from NZ will be forty times higher per head than the EU. Mr Southworth suspects this disparity in quality of trade deal is a combination of ‘speed over quality’, poor negotiation skills and a conscious decision by Government to disadvantage farmers in favour of gaining advantages in other sectors.

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