Australia trade deal will be scrutinised by MPs, says Truss

The UK-Australia free trade agreement will be scrutinised in parliament this autumn, Conservative leadership hopeful Liz Truss has said.

NFU president Minette Batters and other farm leaders vented their fury earlier this year when it became apparent that the deal would not be examined by MPs, breaking a promise made by the government.

Speaking at a virtual NFU hustings event on 1 September, Ms Truss agreed with the widely shared view within farming that all trade deals needed proper scrutiny.

See also: Batters hits out as UK-Australia deal passes without debate

But the former international trade minister played down concerns over the impact trade deals, such as those which she helped strike with Australia and New Zealand, would have on UK farmers.

“My understanding is there will be a parliamentary debate on the issue of the Australia trade deal, so the scrutiny will happen,” Ms Truss said.

“As I have said before publicly about the Australia deal and the New Zealand deal, there are very strong safeguards in those deals to make sure prices in Britain won’t be unfairly undercut.

“There is a very, very long transition period and what I would be about as a prime minister is helping our sectors become more successful and competitive.”

Ms Truss, who is favourite to become the next prime minister ahead of Rishi Sunak, said her focus would be on helping farming get the right investment to “become more competitive and take advantage of the export markets that have been opened up.”

Mrs Batters was pleased to hear that the Australia trade deal would be scrutinised.

“I think it is a really important point for precedent that all trade deals do come in front of parliament for ratification so that everybody has complete understanding and the MPs and the elected representatives can also feed back so that we have that dialogue,” Mrs Batters said.

“What I have learned from my conversations with fellow farmers in Australia and New Zealand, is that it is much more of a partnership approach with farmers and government.”

Cut red tape

At the 30-minute virtual hustings, Ms Truss also said she wanted to cut red tape to help farmers produce more food and export more food.

Dealing with soaring energy costs, which could force farmers out of business, would be an immediate priority if she was chosen for office, Ms Truss said.

The MP for South West Norfolk said the UK needed to become more energy self-sufficient.

Ms Truss added that she would look at the AHDB levy and was “very happy” to have a discussion about match funding.

Asked about a water strategy, as many farmers struggle with drought in parts of the UK, Ms Truss said the country needed “more reservoirs”.