The Business, Energy and Industry Committee has said that a future move by the UK to lower or remove tariffs could have extremely damaging consequences for British farming with only the prospect of very limited benefit to consumers in terms of lower prices.
You can read the report from the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee in full here. The Chair of the Committee, Rachel Reeves MP, flagged that the processed food and drinks industry is the UK’s largest manufacturing sector, contributes £28.8 billion to the UK economy and employs hundreds of thousands of people throughout the country. She said: "British consumers are very discerning and rightly expect the highest food safety, animal welfare and environmental standards. Consumers also value the variety and choice of products when they do their shopping."
She called on the Government to provide “clarity and certainty on our future relationship with the EU and seek continued regulatory, standards, and trading alignment with the EU in the processed food and drink sector”.
Responding to the report, Chief Executive of Sustain Kath Dalmeny said: “The BEIS Committee quite rightly unanimously rejected any ‘race to the bottom’ on food as UK consumers will not tolerate any lowering of standards. Keeping our food safe and supporting our industries must be priorities as we leave the EU."
“We are frequently told that eliminating tariffs will lower food prices and be good for those on low incomes. But we utterly reject the idea that flooding our supermarket shelves with sugary, salty and fat-filled processed food will benefit our nation’s health or our farmers and food producers.”
Good Food Trade Campaign: Campaigning for good trade that benefits people and the planet at home and overseas.
