Fears New Zealand trade deal could 'seriously threaten' Welsh farming

Welsh farmers are concerned a deal with New Zealand will "seriously threaten Welsh farming".

However, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted the partnership will “benefit businesses and consumers”.The two governments have reached an agreement in principle to work on a Free Trade Agreement to “ditch tariffs and cut red tape” and to give people from the UK and New Zealand the chance to live and work in both countries.It follows a similar deal agreed in principle with Australia.

The Prime Minister hailed it, saying “It will benefit businesses and consumers across the country, cutting costs for exporters and opening up access for our workers.  

  “This is a fantastic week for Global Britain. On Tuesday we raised almost £10bn in investment for the industries of the future, and this new deal will help drive green growth here and on the other side of the world in New Zealand.” However there’s caution from the farming community and the Welsh Government.The Welsh Economy minister Vaughan Gething acknowledges the deal “could bring potential benefits to Wales” but says concerns remain.“We do not yet know the final details on the agreement, but alongside the other Devolved Governments have continued to raise concerns regarding the cumulative impact that offering significant increases in agricultural market access across a range of agricultural sectors could have on our domestic agricultural industry.

"We will continue to request that the UK Government provides us with sight of the impact analysis used to inform the negotiations of the market access agreements in this and any future free trade agreements.“My officials will now scrutinise the detail of the agreement to determine the impacts on Wales.

"Once the final agreement is available and we have had the time to complete this work, we will publish a report detailing the potential impacts on Wales and our views on the agreement.”Farming unions are more openly critical.

NFU Cymru president John Davies said, “I view this latest announcement with great apprehension for future generations, and as further confirmation of the UK Government’s agenda of liberalising trade with some of the world’s largest agri-food exporters, an agenda which has the potential to seriously threaten Welsh farming in return for no tangible benefits that we can see.”

And as well as concerns about this deal, he said it establishes worrying precedents for future deals.“With this announcement, the UK Government’s direction of travel is abundantly clear.

"It leaves me particularly worried about the cumulative impacts successive trade deals will have on Wales’ farmers, as slowly but surely the floodgates are thrown open to imports from all over the world.

"We need a detailed economic assessment from the UK Government of the predicted cumulative impact on Welsh agriculture of UK trade policy.

"However, my concerns go further than economics - if our financial viability is threatened, then the social and cultural fabric of our rural communities will be threatened, as well.”