Select committee: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Recommendation 13
First report - Australia FTA: Food and Agriculture
Published 17 Jun 2022
Paragraph 89
Addressed to Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Australia FTA: Food and Agriculture All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The Government risks negotiating with one hand tied behind its back if it does not take full advantage of the knowledge and intelligence that the UK sector can provide to support negotiations. The description of the agri-food Trade Advisory Group (TAG) given by the Deputy Chief Negotiator appears to confirm the industry’s description that the group was mostly about providing updates to industry rather than industry, and other stakeholders, providing advice and insights to Government. The Government must overhaul the way it engages with the relevant sectors and the devolved administrations during negotiations to provide for meaningful two-way engagement. We ask that it reports back by September on the changes it has made to how the group operates. The Government should also expand the membership of the agri-food TAG to provide it with additional expertise on animal welfare, health and environmental considerations.
From: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, First report - Australia FTA: Food and Agriculture (HC 23), paragraph 89, 17 June 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 12 October 2022 (deadline 17 August 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government welcomes the Committee's report and responds to each recommendation, largely setting out existing measures in the UK-Australia FTA and committing to seek similar environmental provisions in future FTAs.
- On the bilateral safeguard, it says the technical processes are "currently under review by Government" and that it "will continue to keep Parliament updated on the outcome of the review".
- On future FTAs, it says it "will further seek similar commitments and provisions" on the environment, and will seek applicability across all levels of government.
- On impact assessments, it "accepts the recommendations" of the Trade Modelling Review Expert Panel and "intends to implement them fully", but expects changes to be "incremental".
- On import controls, it says the new Target Operating Model "will be published in the Autumn" and the new controls regime "will come into force at the end of 2023".