Farming Sector: US Trading Relationship
1/213. What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the potential impact of the trading relationship with the US on the farming sector.
I am grateful to the right hon. Member for his question. The UK was the first country to secure such an agreement with the US—one which will save thousands of jobs, protect key British industries and farmers, and drive economic growth. People said that it would be impossible to deliver such a deal without compromising on food standards, but we have proven them wrong. This Government have delivered a deal that protects our high food standards while giving British farmers access to a market of 340 million people where they can sell their high-quality beef.
The Secretary of State is right that any threat of an imminent increase in US beef imports in particular is clearly not the problem, but it has not gone away either. The US Department of Agriculture has a foreign agricultural service with 100 different offices, embassies and trade missions. They work with US farming groups around the world to promote their product, and they are not spending that money just to stand still. What will the Secretary of State be doing to ensure that our farmers have the same opportunities, so that they can see free trade agreements not just as threats but opportunities too?
I am grateful for the right hon. Member’s insightful and thoughtful contribution. As I said, striking trade deals is vital. That is why we put so much energy into it and have had so much success, and there will be more to come. It is very important that the whole British economy and Government make sure that we exploit the full opportunities that all these agreements offer. The Department for Business and Trade has embedded highly talented trade experts right across the world, and they are trying to do just that on the frontline of all the economic opportunities we perceive around the world, and that includes agriculture. If there are specific areas where the right hon. Member perceives that the agricultural sector, either in his patch or across the United Kingdom, has an opportunity that is not yet being exploited, I want to hear from and work with him to make sure that British farmers benefit.