Prime Minister Johnson celebrates a proposed trade deal with New Zealand.
But even an evaluation by the government sees next to no advantages.
Farmers are appalled.
Aberystwyth - British farmers have been appalled by the announced free trade agreement between the UK and New Zealand. The agreement shows the willingness of the British government to sacrifice agriculture and food security in the country, said the Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW). "The government's own figures show that the economic benefits for the UK from this deal are microscopic," said FUW President Glyn Roberts.
"The winner in this deal will clearly be New Zealand, which will allow it to increase food exports to the UK, which is a major threat to Welsh and UK farmers and our food security," said Roberts.
He pointed out that New Zealand, with a good 5 million people, has fewer inhabitants than Scotland (5.4 million).
Trade deal: Farmers fear cheap New Zealand lamb
Farmers warn that cheaper New Zealand lamb could displace local farmers.
An analysis by the British government had shown that the agreement offered little or no benefit for its own economy.
Trade with the former colony accounts for 0.2 percent of British foreign trade.
According to the agreement, duty-free lamb imports from New Zealand are likely to increase by 30 percent in the first year.
After five years, the increase is already 44 percent, followed by further increases until after 15 years there are no more tariffs, criticized the FUW.
There are also huge leaps in terms of beef, butter and cheese.
Trade deal: deal "undermines UK agriculture"
"This agreement - in conjunction with the trade deal with Australia announced in June - leaves little doubt that the British government is deliberately or negligently undermining British agriculture, food production and food security," said Roberts.
This impression is reinforced by the fact that British farmers are receiving less support, but have to suffer more bureaucracy and regulation.
The British umbrella organization National Farmers' Union also criticized the agreement.
With the deal, the UK opens the doors to significant additional quantities of imported food for which manufacturing standards remain unclear.
There is almost no consideration for British farmers.
For the UK, the agreement is above all a strategic decision.
London hopes to be included in the CPTPP trade agreement of the Pacific countries in order to ultimately gain access to the US market.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson * had emphasized that the country could sign significantly better trade deals after Brexit *.
(dpa) * Merkur.de is part of IPPEN.MEDIA.
