Possible legal challenge to Brexit lower-welfare food import block
Attempts to block lower welfare food imports into the United Kingdom following Brexit could face legal challenges, according to a new report.
The report, published by AHDB, looks at the implications for British agriculture of trading under World Trade Organisation rules after the UK withdraws from the European Union.
The authors warn that the British Government could have difficulty trying to protect high welfare domestic farmers against overseas farmers operating to lower welfare, and lower cost, standards.
“Following the Brexit vote there has been a great deal of debate in the industry on whether the UK will adopt higher animal welfare standards, than those currently across the EU. In addition, there has be debate on whether the UK could use these higher standards, if adopted, as a barrier to restrict trade in below-standard products,” says the report, written by AHDB senior analyst Sarah Baker and David Swales, head of strategic insight.
UK’s own animal welfare
The authors say that, under WTO rules and regulations, the UK will able to define its own animal welfare standards and, they say, there are circumstances in which the Government will be able to use these standards as a technical barrier to trade.
However, they say that the UK could face challenges from other WTO members if these standards do not meet two basic obligations of WTO law.
These obligations require that any measures are applied consistently both to domestic and to imported products from all countries and that these measures should not to be more trade restrictive than necessary to fulfil a legitimate objective.
“As the UK has been accepting imports produced to given international standards of animal welfare, any raising of standards could be challenged on the second of these points,” say the report's authors.
“Raising standards in order to create a barrier to trade would not be considered a legitimate objective in itself,” they say.
Cheap food
The new Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, who was one of the leaders of the campaign to leave the EU, is a proponent of free trade who said during the referendum campaign that leaving the European Union could provide British consumers with cheap food as a result of trade deals with emerging nations, although since taking up his Defra role he has spoken of protecting UK welfare standards.
Speaking to the East Anglian Daily Times during the Royal Norfolk Show, he said: “Farmers recognise that as we leave the EU there are opportunities because of the high quality produce that the UK is famous for, and Norfolk in particular is noted for.
“There is an opportunity to sell more abroad – but we also need to make sure that as we do sell abroad that we do not compromise our high environmental and animal welfare standards.”
His predecessor as Environment Secretary, Andrea Leadsom, said at the NFU conference earlier this year: “We have been very clear in our manifesto that high animal welfare standards will be a core part of any international free trade arrangements.
“I have been very clear that we will not seek to put ourselves in an uncompetitive position by reducing welfare or food safety or food traceability standards. It's a very key unique selling point for the UK. We don't want to do anything to undermine that.”
'International exemplar'
Farming Minister George Eustice said at the Egg & Poultry Industry Conference in November: “We want to make the UK the international exemplar when it comes to animal health and welfare.
“I would like us to pioneer new policies, new ways of working, to create a policy that is the envy of the world. I want us to get to a place where a decade from now the rest of the world will want to emulate policies that we put in place,” said the Minister.
However, more recently the Prime Minister refused to rule out lowering British food standards in order to secure a trade deal with the United States. Fears grew over the potential opening of the UK to imports of chlorinated chicken and hormone treated beef.
However, speaking to BBC's Today programme, Mr Gove said all members of the government were 'agreed' that animal welfare standards will not be diluted.
The Government has made clear that it is seeking to establish a series of free trade agreements with countries around the world ready for when the UK withdraws from the European Union in 2019.
However, a new briefing paper placed in the House of Commons Library, warns that agriculture can prove difficult in trade talks.
'Sticking point'
The authors of the document, 'Brexit: Agriculture and Trade,' say: “Agricultural issues can be a sticking point in trade negotiations. The interests of consumers and producers need to be balanced.
“Other issues, such as food security, differing approaches to ensuring food safety, animal welfare and environmental standards, are also likely to come into the equation. Agricultural interests may also have to be balanced against those of other industrial sectors.”
The paper says: “On leaving the EU customs union, the UK will be able to negotiate its own free trade agreements. This has the potential to open up new markets for UK agriculture.”
However, it says: “It remains to be seen how easy these trade negotiations will be. Examples have already been raised where there could be issues such as around the import of hormone-fed beef and chickens washed in chlorine, which are currently banned in the EU.”
Hormone beef
Hormone beef has been the subject of a long-running dispute between, on the one side, the United States and Canada, and, on the other, the European Union, which in 1989 banned the importation of meat that contained artificial beef growth hormones that were approved for use and administered in the United States.
The WTO has made a series of rulings against the EU. The United States and Canada are two of the countries seen as priorities for free trade agreements by the UK Government.
The House of Commons briefing paper points out that in evidence to the House of Lords EU Committee, the NFU warned: “Many UK farm businesses would be put at significant competitive disadvantage if current tariff barriers were removed or slashed without great care being taken to ensure a level playing field.”
The National Pig Association told the same committee: “With pig production costs in the USA, Canada and Brazil considerably lower than in the UK (due to lower welfare, legislation and environment standards) the removal or reduction of tariffs for pork products from those countries will have a significant negative impact on British pork producers.”
’Mixed messages’
And the Lords committee, itself, said: “The Government is currently giving mixed messages to the agricultural sector.
“Its vision for the UK as a leading free trade nation with low tariff barriers to the outside world does not sit easily with its declared commitment to high quality and welfare standards in the UK farming sector. Combining and delivering these two objectives will be a considerable challenge.”
The authors of the AHDB report point to examples where animal welfare has been permitted by the WTO as a barrier to trade.
However, it is possible that seeking to do so could involve the UK Government in protracted negotiations and in legal disagreements.
