NFU President: "No-deal Brexit appears to be increasingly likely"
A no-deal Brexit seems more likely after the vote against the Prime Minister’s Withdrawal Agreement believes National Farmers Union president Minette Batters.
"As a result of the vote in the House of Commons, the country now finds itself in a situation where a no-deal Brexit appears to be increasingly likely. I have been clear that such an exit would simply be catastrophic for Britain and its food and farming sector and the country’s ability to produce home-grown food.
A no-deal Brexit could lead to huge disruption as a result of an effective trade embargo on the export of animals and animal products to the EU leaving many livestock farmers with no market for their produce. At the same time, we know that the Government would choose to unilaterally lower import tariffs on food. Let’s be clear about that if that happened Britain would be actively encouraging food imports from all over the world potentially produced to food standards lower than is legally allowed by UK farmers", said Batters in a quick response to the situation in the UK.
For now, the outlook looks quite grim, with farmers facing an unfair competition against imported goods. "This would leave our own farmers facing the devastating outcome of having limited markets for their own produce while at the same time being undercut by low standard imports.
Such a move would leave Britain with a weakened ability to produce its own food. Once the tap of British food production is turned off, it would be very hard to turn it on again. Nobody would benefit from this", added Minette Batters.
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