This is a subscriber-only article
The UK’s Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Michael Gove, has said he was absolutely confident that there would be tariff-free access for Irish beef to the UK after Brexit.
Speaking at the Oxford Farming Conference on Thursday morning, Gove added that the two-way trade between the EU and the UK in agricultural goods would be fully tariff-free and preserved in the present form.
Britain is the single most important market for Irish beef.
Irish beef exports to Britain account for half of all production, approximately 250,000t annually.
Gove again said that international trade deals would not compromise on food safety.
“By definition, we cannot yet know the final outcome of a trade negotiation which is about to get underway, and Defra is preparing for every eventuality," Michael Gove said in his speech. "But we are confident of building a new economic partnership with the EU that guarantees tariff-free access for agri-food goods across each other’s borders. We have a deficit in agricultural and horticultural produce with the EU 27. Irish beef farmers, French butter and cheese producers, Dutch market gardeners and Spanish salad growers all have an interest just as, if not more acute, than Welsh sheep farmers or Ulster dairy farmers in securing continued tariff-free access between the UK and the EU.”
Sitting beside him was the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, Ted McKinney, who only pointed out to the success of the export of wood chips from the United States to Britain for energy production.
Earlier, the UK’s DEFRA secretary also guaranteed that in England, direct payments to farmers would continue until 2024.
He added that Scotland would be free to make up its own mind.
Oxford Farming Conference: US seeks to do more trade with UK
SHARING OPTIONS: