Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of a free trade deal with Australia on small to medium-sized farms in the North East.

The scoping assessment published in June 2020 assessed the potential impacts of a deal, in advance of negotiations, under various illustrative scenarios. This included a more detailed look at the impacts on the agri-food sectors. This assessment was not based on the actual deal, but on broad assumptions about what a trade agreement could look like.

Following the conclusion of negotiations, the Government will be updating the analysis and publishing a full impact assessment prior to implementation of the agreement.

The Australia-UK free trade agreement (FTA) will bring new export opportunities to British farmers and benefit the industry by removing tariffs whilst protecting UK agricultural sensitivities, upholding the UK’s high food and animal welfare standards, and facilitating movement of people. The UK produces high quality, premium produce that is globally sought after, and all the new FTAs will create new export opportunities for British farming.