Dickson Voices Concerns over the UK-Australia Trade Agreement

East Antrim Alliance MLA, Stewart Dickson, has voiced concerns over the possible ramifications of the agreed trade deal between the UK and Australia.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Australian counterpart, Scott Morrison, agreed the controversial trade deal following the conclusion of the G7 summit in Cornwall.

Mr Dickson explained that: “Australia has a number of distinct advantages over Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK in terms of the land available for farming, the climate, and lower control standards that enable considerably lower production costs.”

He said these advantages mean, “Australian beef and sheep products have the potential to undercut UK producers and to reduce Northern Ireland’s market share in Great Britain which is our most important market for these products.”

Mr Dickson went on to explain that his concerns have been compounded by the Minister for Agriculture’s exasperating take on the issue.

He commented that: “I wrote to the Minister for Agriculture, Edwin Poots, to ask for his assessment of the deal with Australia, and its likely implications for the agricultural sector of Northern Ireland.

“I received a response from him, in which he told me that he was concerned at the lack of safeguards in the deal as they could present a high level of risk to farmers in Northern Ireland and across the UK, particularly in the beef and sheep sectors.”

“Considering the Minister appears to have a decent grasp of the harmful ramifications of this deal, I cannot help but notice the duplicity of agitating for Brexit in one breath, and complaining about its very real damage to his sector in the next.

“It is the farmers and local businesses of Northern Ireland that will have to pay the price when Great Britain start to buy cheaper products from Australian farms, some of which are larger than the entire landmass of Israel.”

The deal has already proved controversial, not just because of the potential for British farmers to be undercut, but also because farmers in Australia are allowed to use some hormone growth promoters, pesticides, and feed additives, that are banned in the UK.

Mr Dickson concluded by saying: “I think what this deal shows, is that Boris Johnson is more than happy to use the UK agricultural sector as a bargaining chip when it comes to making trade deals. That reality does not bode well for Northern Ireland, especially with so many deals – and bigger deals at that – still to be struck.

“Why the penny didn’t drop for Mr Poots earlier is beyond me. However, when the details of the deal emerge, interesting questions will begin to surface around Northern Ireland’s special status post-Brexit.”