Select committee: Welsh Affairs Committee
Third Report - Implications of the UK-Australia FTA for Wales
HC 481
Published 4 August 2021
Welsh Affairs Committee One-off session on the implications for Wales of the UK/AUS FTA Report on parliament.uk ↗
At a glance9 recommendations and 2 conclusions · Government response published 25 November 2021 (deadline 4 October 2021)
The government's response
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.
The government's response sets out existing engagement and publication arrangements for most recommendations, says it will publish its response to the Trade and Agriculture Commission report "as soon as it is ready", and commits to no new Wales-specific impact assessment.
- On Welsh Government access to draft treaty text, it says it has "committed–and delivered on the commitment–to sharing FTA draft treaty text with the devolved administrations prior to any signature".
- On a Wales-specific impact assessment, it states only that DIT publishes scoping and impact assessments at the launch and conclusion of FTA negotiations, which provide analysis of potential impacts on the nations and regions of the UK.
- On agricultural safeguards in years 11 to 15, it describes product specific safeguards for beef and sheep meat, with a 20% safeguard duty if volume thresholds are exceeded, plus a general bilateral safeguard mechanism.
- On the Trade and Agriculture Commission, it says its advice "will be published to inform Parliamentarians" before ratification, and on Agriculture and Food Counsellors says "We aim to expand their number", without stating a date.
What the committee recommended 11
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Sources
- Third Report - Implications of the UK-Australia FTA for Wales ↗The committee's report, HC 481, parliament.uk
- Implications of the UK/ Australia FTA for Wales: Government response to the Committee’s Third Report of Session 2021–22 ↗The government's response, 25 November 2021, parliament.uk
Recommendations and conclusions 11
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1
We are satisfied that the UK Government has sufficiently engaged with the Welsh Government during... Recommendation (the committee's words)We are satisfied that the UK Government has sufficiently engaged with the Welsh Government during the consultation phase for the UK-Australia free trade agreement. However, given that trade agreements overlap with areas of devolved competence, we suggest that the Welsh Government should have access to the draft treaty text prior to publication. This would enable the Welsh Government to provide feedback on regional and local impacts to inform the UK Government’s impact assessment and to produce its own impact assessment.
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2
We welcome the UK Government’s commitment to including the impact on Wales in the impact... Recommendation (the committee's words)We welcome the UK Government’s commitment to including the impact on Wales in the impact assessment for the UK-Australia FTA. However, we reiterate our previous recommendation that the UK Government should publish a Wales-specific impact assessment for free trade agreements (FTAs), including the UK-Australia FTA. This should provide more detail than the impact assessment for the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) did, and include short- term impacts and impacts by sector in Wales.
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3
We are alert to the concerns of Welsh farmers that the gradual removal of tariffs... Recommendation (the committee's words)We are alert to the concerns of Welsh farmers that the gradual removal of tariffs on Australian beef and lamb potentially poses a competitive threat. However, this is unlikely to manifest in the short term, and it is far from certain that the UK will be flooded with Australian beef and lamb imports in the longer-term. The UK Government should clarify, in the explanatory memorandum accompanying the final treaty text, what conditions would need to be met for agricultural safeguards to be applied in years 10–15 after the agreement comes into force. In response to this report, the UK Government should also explain how it intends to work with the Welsh Government to ensure that its wider trade strategy is coherent with ambitions to make farming more productive and sustainable.
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4
The UK Government should respond to the report of the first Trade and Agriculture Commission. Recommendation (the committee's words)The UK Government should respond to the report of the first Trade and Agriculture Commission.
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5
We are concerned that the statutory Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC) is not yet operational... Recommendation (the committee's words)We are concerned that the statutory Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC) is not yet operational and we urge the UK Government to set up the TAC as soon as possible. The UK Government intends to allow the TAC to scrutinise the final text of the UK-Australia free trade agreement (FTA), but this may occur too late to enable effective Parliamentary scrutiny of the agreement. To improve scrutiny of future FTAs, the TAC’s report should be published alongside the final text, impact assessment and explanatory memorandum.
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6
On establishing the statutory TAC, the UK Government should publish a statement clearly outlining the... Recommendation (the committee's words)On establishing the statutory TAC, the UK Government should publish a statement clearly outlining the role of the TAC and the role that the TAC will play in feeding into Parliamentary scrutiny of FTAs.
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7
The TAC must include at least one member who understands and has direct experience of... Recommendation (the committee's words)The TAC must include at least one member who understands and has direct experience of the agricultural and regulatory landscape of Wales.
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8
Free trade agreements offer opportunities for Welsh businesses to export and we welcome that the... Recommendation (the committee's words)Free trade agreements offer opportunities for Welsh businesses to export and we welcome that the UK-Australia FTA will result in the removal of tariffs for British exports. However, in order to maximise opportunities for Welsh farmers to export their goods and access new markets, the UK should significantly increase the number of Agriculture and Food Counsellors based overseas, particularly in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions.
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9
We welcome the commitments to new mobility arrangements that will make it easier for Welsh... Conclusion (the committee's words)We welcome the commitments to new mobility arrangements that will make it easier for Welsh people to travel to and work in Australia.
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10
We welcome the Agreement in Principle reached between the UK and Australian governments and await... Recommendation (the committee's words)We welcome the Agreement in Principle reached between the UK and Australian governments and await the final text of the free trade agreement (FTA). However, while the UK-Australia FTA is unlikely to have a significant impact on Wales in the short term, we are conscious of the concerns that exist within the Welsh agri- food sector. Farm businesses are already facing some uncertainty in the transition away from the EU system of farm payments and the changing trade environment. The UK Government and Welsh Government must work with the agri-food sector to ensure that UK producers have the skills and support needed to thrive in a new global trading environment.
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11
We welcome the UK Government’s commitment to allow three months for parliamentary scrutiny between the... Conclusion (the committee's words)We welcome the UK Government’s commitment to allow three months for parliamentary scrutiny between the publication of the final text of the agreement and laying the text before the House. We will continue to scrutinise the impacts of this and other FTAs on Wales.