Scrutinising the recent UK-US trade agreement, MPs called the lack of an intervention to prevent the closure of the Vivergo plant, near Hull, following the granting of 1.4bn litres of market access to the US, 鈥渄isappointing鈥�.
They cited impacts on domestic production capacity, supply chains including UK farmers, and the UK鈥檚 ability to produce CO鈧� and animal feed as by-products.
鈥淯K agriculture has nothing more to give without risking its own future.鈥�
NFU President Tom Bradshaw
Agriculture has nothing more to give
NFU President Tom Bradshaw said he 鈥渨holly agreed鈥� with a call for measures to support domestic bioethanol production capacity.
However, while the report recommended driving forward with further negotiations to reduce the threat of tariffs, Tom was clear that future talks should not include agriculture.
鈥淲e have already done our bit, paying with a tariff imbalance in the reciprocal beef deal and the undermining of our ethanol markets to reduce tariffs on cars, aluminium and steel. UK agriculture has nothing more to give without risking its own future.鈥� 聽聽
The report recommendation that any substantive trade commitments the government makes should be subject to parliamentary scrutiny, a move which the NFU has also backed.
Read the report in full at: .
