It is regrettable that the Government chose to engage in this negotiation without first articulating the core standards that the food imported into the UK must meet. Setting out core standards would have strengthened the hand of British negotiators, reassured the relevant sectors of the Government’s commitment to such standards, and helped raise standards globally. However, we do welcome the fact that this deal does not prevent the Government adopting core standards—or other trade measures such as a carbon adjustment tax—in the future. We reiterate our previous call for the 38 Australia FTA: Food and Agriculture Government to adopt a system of core standards, which we believe would make it easier for UK negotiators to get of other countries agree to meet equivalent standards to those in place in the UK. Core standards should be in place before any further FTAs that cover the food sector are agreed.