2 Deferred

While the Government has argued that it has secured three safeguards to protect farmers it...

Recommendation
While the Government has argued that it has secured three safeguards to protect farmers it appears to us that only the general bilateral safeguard mechanism offers any real protection. The volumetric safeguards would only kick in if there were a truly massive increase in Australian red meat imports and, crucially, would only prevent the arrival of further imports rather than address any damage already caused by export permitted within the tariff rate quotas. We call on the Government to publish the tests it will use to decide whether and when the general bilateral safeguard mechanism in the UK-Australia FTA should be triggered. Ministers should also set out the policy interventions it would consider using to address any harm that was being caused to the agri-food and farming sectors.
Government Response Summary
The government states that the technical processes for how the bilateral safeguard mechanism will operate are currently under review and that Parliament will be updated on the outcome.
Paragraph Reference
22
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government Deferred
The UK has secured a range of measures to safeguard our farmers in the UK-Australia FTA. This includes tariff rate quotas for sensitive agricultural products, product specific safeguards for beef and sheep meat, and a general bilateral safeguard mechanism providing a temporary safety net for all products. In addition, the UK also retains options under the WTO framework to protect UK industry from serious injury caused by a surge in imports to apply global safeguards should the need arise. This will enable the Government to protect UK industry from any surge of imports into the UK. The technical processes for how the bilateral safeguard mechanism will operate, including how investigations will be carried out and measures applied, are currently under review by Government. The Government will continue to keep Parliament updated on the outcome of the review. The Government recognises that this is a period of major change in the UK agri-food sector both domestically through the agricultural transition, and internationally. The Government Food Strategy was published in June 2022 and sets out the support farmers will receive to help them adapt. The strategy includes measures to drive innovation and harness pioneering technology that will support our farmers by encouraging domestic production, spreading jobs and growing the economy.
Timeline
Recommendation age 4.0 yrs
Report published 17 Jun 2022