NPA highlights Brexit trade stance to Lib Dems

The NPA has highlighted its stance on post-Brexit trade policy to the Liberal Democrats.

Lizzie Wilson met Tom Brake, the Lib Dem’s spokesman for Brexit and International Trade, in Westminster recently, updating him on where the NPA stood on issues like our future relations with the EU and potential trade deals with the likes of the US. It was a timely meeting in light of the Government’s recently-published White Paper on post-Brexit trade and the controversy stirred up by US president Donald Trump surrounding a possible US-UK trade deal.

“We discussed the US and our issues with a trade deal, including the challenges around ractopamine, stalls, castration, use of blood plasma and their reliance on antibiotics. As with any third country, we made it clear we would not want pork to be imported of an inferior standard,” Lizzie said.

“While we would prefer not to have any deal by which inferior standard pork could be imported into the UK, I stressed that we had to be realistic and, if necessary, would request that domestic supply was as protected as possible in the form of being categorised as a sensitive product, for example.”

“We also discussed what sort of non-tariff barriers could be put in place to protect UK producers from lower standard imports, for example, use of ractopamine and permanent use of sow stalls.”

“Regarding potential deals with other nations, I stressed that our priority markets will continue to be the likes of China, Japan, South Korea.”

“Another important topic was labour and immigration. We are concerned over the Government’s obsession with seasonal labour and I stressed that our requirement was for permanent, so-called unskilled, labour. He invited us to contact him with any issues on the forthcoming, potentially delayed, Immigration Bill.”