Ministers to face MPs’ questions on the UK’s agri-food trade strategy
Government Ministers Greg Hands and Sir Mark Spencer face questions from the EFRA Committee in the final evidence session of its inquiry into the UK’s trade policy for food and agriculture.
MPs ask the Ministers for their views on the repeated concerns heard during this inquiry that the UK does not have a coherent trade strategy for food and agriculture.
Meeting details
The Ministers will be questioned about the implications for the UK agri-food sector, of the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
The Committee is also likely to examine why negotiations towards a new UK-Canada free trade agreement (FTA) were paused earlier this year. MPs will ask the Ministers how the Government plans to respond if Canada continues to insist on the UK accepting hormone-treated beef as part of an FTA.
The Ministers will also be questioned on why the Government does not agree to follow stakeholder calls for the UK to insist on core standards regarding Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) rules, animal welfare and environmental standards in trade agreements, as a precondition.
With the EU remaining the UK’s most significant trading partner for agri-food products, the Committee will also probe how the UK will mitigate market-access barriers that arise from increasing divergence from new EU agri-food and environmental legislation.