Briefings for Britain, November 29, Catherine McBride
It might surprise George Eustice to learn that the F in DEFRA stands for Food, not farmers. It would appear Eustice has never understood his brief, even though he bragged in a Spectator puff-piece last week that he had served as a Minister in the department for nine years, finishing as the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from February 2020 to September 2022. Now on the backbenches, Eustice is dissing the two trade deals Boris Johnson’s government negotiated for the UK with Australia and New Zealand.
As a Minister for food, Eustice should have been rejoicing that new trade deals with two large food exporters would arrive, like the cavalry in an old western, just in time to relieve Britain’s embattled citizens fighting against the cost-of-living crisis. But no, Eustice’s only concern is for the profits of UK beef farmers, and dare I suggest, for retaining his seat in Parliament.
Eustice claimed in this obvious election broadcast, (There was no push back from the interviewer nor it would appear any fact checking by the publisher), that Liz Truss (as Trade Secretary) had ‘shattered’ the UK’s negotiating position by rushing the deal, and that the UK should have demanded that Australia lift its ban on UK beef imports. Is this the same UK that imports about 30% of the beef it consumes and the same Australia which is the world’s second largest chilled beef exporter and third largest frozen beef exporter? If so, I fail to see what the UK’s negotiating position was, other than claiming: if you don’t allow us to sell you beef that we don’t have, we will refuse to buy your beef that we need and instead continue to pay excessive prices for EU beef. It doesn’t sound like a strong negotiating position to me. Especially as the UK’s primary export industries, that will do very well out of this trade deal, are all manufacturing industries, not agricultural.
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