Philip Hammond - Tariff free trade deals would only contribute a tiny amount to our GDP... so we must quash "this myth that third country trade deals will solve all our problems"

"Name 1 good export from the UK !" / "It's hard. Black pudding? Spice Girl CDs? It's more about what we can now sell to them."

Appalling that the Government has deliberately avoided parliamentary scrutiny of its terrible trade deal with Australia. The UK Government vowed to be a global leader for animals but now farm welfare standards are likely to be sacrificed for this quick trade agreement.

The Prime Minister's poor post-Brexit trade deals show the desperation of a charlatan who sold the country a pup, writes Kevin Maguire.

Two years after Britain’s departure from the European Union, bosses of UK businesses are reeling from the cost of Brexit, including some who voted to cut ties with Brussels.

New poll shows 79% think trade deals with Australia and New Zealand are bad. / Just over half (52%) of farmers said Britain should join the EU and 70% of thought we should at least rejoin the single European market, rising to 85% in the case of those working in the ancillary industries.

THERE is “no desire in Scotland to have membership of the EU”, Scotland Secretary Alister Jack has claimed despite significant evidence to the contrary. / "So does it come as a surprise to the secretary of state that a poll last year showed 69% of Scottish voters want to rejoin the EU?”

Claim that UK farming at risk if ‘soft’ approach pursued with countries with ‘less qualms’ about quality.

Boris Johnson’s post-Brexit trade deal with Australia will damage the UK’s agriculture and food sectors by hundreds of millions of pounds, according to the government’s own impact assessment.

THE UK Government has been accused of treating Scotland’s farmers as “expendable” as the trade deal with Australia comes into effect.

Post-Brexit free trade deal will cause a ‘reallocation of resources within the economy’ including a £225m hit to semi-processed food, the Government’s own impact assessment says.

Farmers fear that deal will mean they risk being undercut by cheap imports made to lower animal welfare standards.

Agreement would undermine major overhaul of animal-welfare laws announced to fanfare last week, campaigners say.

Wales' cultural identity is at stake in the row over an Australian trade deal being finalised by the UK government, the first minister has warned.

One of Australia’s supposed key demands for a free trade deal with the UK – their agreeing to buy our hormone-treated beef – is “almost impossible” for the UK to agree to, according to a new report by an anti-Brexit think tank.

Investigation finds areas of cleared land in Queensland likely to be habitats for threatened species.

Former trade negotiator Dmitry Grozoubinski celebrates the "virtually unprecedented result" for Australia in the trade deal with the UK, telling James O'Brien "we've not heard" any benefits for Brits.

If you don't laugh, you'll cry. The anchors on Channel 9 news have been having a good giggle at Brexit this week.

Talk at this week’s NFU conference will be alive with financial, labour and competition concerns.

The Australian Trade Minister Steven Ciobo confirms to MEPs that a trade deal with the EU will be prioritised over one with the UK.

Trade secretary Kemi Badenoch has taken a swipe at ex-PMs Boris Johnson and Liz Truss for setting public deadlines in trade negotiations.

he OBR pours cold water on hopes for a big boost from the Pacific trade deal. / Have you ever wondered how the UK, based firmly in the north Atlantic, managed to join the free trade area known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)? After all, as the name suggests, it is for countries around the Pacific.

Ian Blackford suggested that the UK's proposed trade deal with Australia would send 'farmers down under'.

THE SNP have slammed Boris Johnson for “betraying” Scottish farmers over plans to go ahead with a tariff-free trade deal with Australia.

The Chancellor and Prime Minister need a plan to counter figures showing lower growth after the hit to EU trade.

Boris Johnson has laughed off claims that he's planning “planning to throw our farmers and crofters under the Brexit bus” over trade negotiations with Australia.

A couple of points are worth observing already. Nearly six years on from the Leave vote, the supposed opportunities of Brexit remain entirely conspicuous by their absence. And ramping up the rhetoric by claiming “immense opportunity” does not change this reality.

Boris Johnson has been warned his prospective free trade deal with Australia could “decimate” the British farming industry, as opposition parties unite against a zero-tariff agreement.

Shadow International Trade Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds has written a letter to the government urging ministers raising his concerns over the 'mess' of a trade deal.

Boris Johnson’s free trade deal with Australia could cause devastation on a scale with the Highland Clearances, a former Scottish Government minister has claimed.

Another Brexit advertising campaign. They've replaced sporting events as signs of the changing seasons. Instead of Wimbledon or the Olympics, we get Michael Gove talking gibberish on television and further millions poured into preparedness exercises for an outcome with no tangible benefits.

The UK left the EU at the end of 2020, and according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, Brexit has already led to a significant slump in trade between the EU and the UK... / Brexit supporters endorsed the idea of CANZUK – an alliance between the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Liz Truss had described the deal with Japan as a "landmark moment for Britain" that would boost trade by billions of pounds.

As part of efforts to maintain the Good Friday Agreement and make sure there is no border in the sea or on the island of Ireland, the Windsor Framework was devised. One aspect of this will see “Not for EU” labelling required on British food products sold throughout the UK.

The comments, from the acting Australian PM, will send shivers down the spine of the British farming community.

In reality, Brexit has hobbled the UK economy, which remains the only member of the G7 — the group of advanced economies that also includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — with an economy smaller than it was before the pandemic.

Thierry Breton, who is also single market commissioner, believes downsides of leaving bloc are exposed by pandemic

As Prime Minister Boris Johnson prepares to depart Downing Street, tossed from office by his own party, his legacy — the opening lines of his eventual obituary — will call him the man who “got Brexit done.” / So how is that going? What can be said about the post-Brexit Britain that Johnson is leaving behind?

A THIRD of Scotland’s largest brassica crop has been left to rot in the field because Brexit ended access for seasonal pickers.

Continuing the letter to Jacob Rees-Mogg, reminding him – he seems to need reminding – of the many new opportunities created by Brexit.

Public opinion shifted against Brexit after a deluge of damning evidence on economic costs.

The potential threats of Brexit to Scottish farmers continue to 'vastly outweigh' the potential opportunities, NFU Scotland has warned one year on from UK withdrawal.

George Eustice lambasts Liz Truss for arbitrarily ‘setting the clock against us’ and calls on top civil servant to quit.

The UK’s much-vaunted post-Brexit trade deals will only increase the country’s GDP by a minuscule amount over the next 15 years, a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) reveals today.

A government body has recommended that protections inherited from the EU to protect UK steel producers are ended.

The ruling Conservatives’ efforts to big up their paltry free trade deals with Australia and New Zealand took something of a comic turn this week, with the revelation that the UK Government was shipping signed copies of The Beano to the two countries.

“Australian Brexit” used to be an upbeat euphemism for a “no deal” Brexit outcome. Now, Australia promises a far more profound insight into the true nature of Brexit.

So how is it going? In economic terms, the past year has helped differentiate the impact of Covid from the impact of Brexit. / Doing so has exposed a hefty price being paid by many firms, as well as public service employment, for dislocation of Britain from its nearest neighbour's trading bloc.

The ability to sign free trade deals independently was touted as one of the main positives with Brexit, however agreements with Australia and New Zealand have been predicted to have limited economic impact.

Five years after the Brexit vote, the costs of that decision are becoming clearer.

Ministers have approved the emergency use of neonicotinoids against the advice of their own experts in a move branded ‘unacceptable’ by environmental groups.

It comes after a former environment secretary criticised the treatment of farmers in the UK-Australia trade pact.

"I don’t think they kept their promises before Brexit, they promised things to all men. It’s a huge betrayal," one farmer told TLE.

Jeremy Clarkson has revealed Brexit has left farmers feeling short-changed in his latest show filmed in Oxfordshire.

Ministers criticised for failing to fight for ‘ambitious’ commitments to cut CO2 emissions.

RURAL affairs ministers from Scotland and Northern Ireland have written to the UK Government raising concerns about the impact of the Australia trade deal on domestic farmers and producers.

Cross-party international trade committee says agreement unlikely to be detectable at supermarket tills.

There's little talk of reversing the decision, but evidence of Brexit-induced harm is piling up.

The government has promised to push for an end to tariffs on UK-made ice cream vans during trade negotiations with the US, Australia and Japan.

The former cabinet member, now a backbencher, admits what many suspected about the post-Brexit sunlit uplands: they were over-promised. / George Eustice, former Environment Secretary, yesterday broke ranks with the government line on the success in forging new trade deals post-Brexit. He portrayed the much lauded flagship deal with Australia as ‘not very good’.

John Cole explores the government's response to a petition calling for an enquiry into the impact of Brexit before it's debated in parliament.

Increased hardship for small farmers as close to a billion pounds wiped off UK’s farming economy in 2020.

Tory frontunner will be ‘empty chaired’ by NFU – as enviornment secretary reveals ‘tensions’ with Truss.

NFU says British cattle and sheep farmers will lose out if Australian producers are given tariff-free access.

Farm incomes could fall by more than a half because of post Brexit trade deals, according to a new report. / The Scottish Government have published figures revealing the impact of Free Trade Agreements the UK Government have signed with countries like Australia and New Zealand in the agricultural sector.

New Brexit restrictions have had a ‘disastrous’ impact on the ability of UK breeding companies to sell their stock abroad, the Farming Minister was told at the Young NPA National event in London last week. 

Boris Johnson has been warned that his prospective trade deal with Australia could spell “a slow painful death” for Britain’s beef farming industry, after one of Australia’s biggest producers said a zero-tariff agreement could increase exports to the UK tenfold.

Labour says import quotas are so high they are meaningless and raises concerns about animal welfare

On trade, finance, migration, food standards and more, the UK suffers fresh ignominy on a daily basis.

The Independent revealed earlier this year government’s predicted 0.08% boost risked being an overestimate. / Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch was mocked for a prediction the deal with Asia-Pacific countries would grow the economy by 0.08%.

Can someone tell the government Brexit has already happened? / The government has only now asked the Food Standards Agency to plan how it is going to protect public health and safety after Brexit – almost six months after the transition period for leaving the EU ended.

"I do worry that people are starting to imagine that a trade deal with Australia is somehow a substitute for being on the doorstep of a market with 500 million people, it's not" says former Australian PM Julia Gillard.

"The reality is that half of your trade goes to the EU. Britain’s trade with Australia is a very small percentage.”

Tory former Environment Secretary says UK ‘gave away far too much for far too little in return’.

A FOUR-NATIONS fightback against Boris Johnson’s proposed trade deal with Australia is to be hammered out next week.

Heinz's announcement that it was to start making ketchup in the UK again was widely hailed, but the UK's post-Brexit food and drink manufacturing sector still faces stern challenges.

A pro-EU campaign is pouring cash into a concerted effort to unseat 44 high-profile 'Blue Wall' Tory MPs, the Mirror can reveal.

George Eustice and Liz Truss have reportedly rowed over a proposed trade deal between the UK and Australia.

George Eustice pulls no punches as he lays into the former prime minister in parliament, lambasting Ms Truss's achievements as international trade secretary.

Trade committee chair Angus Brendan MacNeil said MPs had been ‘consistently hindered’ in attempts to examine the deal.

Former Cabinet minister George Eustice says too much has been given away in the name of free trade.

Activists file formal complaint alleging government has breached international law in signing deal.

Worried farmers hit out at the government, telling NationalWorld it “has no interest in protecting the agricultural industry at all”.

SNP MSP Jim Fairlie will lead a Members’ Business Debate today on the threat a tariff-free trade deal with countries like Australia will pose to Scotland’s farmers and agriculture sector.

‘Your boss has conceded the whole kingdom’, Australian negotiator said to have told Liz Truss.

As the UK-Australia trade deal comes into force, those close to the negotiations reflect on their dramatic — and farcical — climax.

What will be the impact of Britain’s withdrawal from the EU on food standards in the UK?

Everyone can see that it is failing, but pretending it can work is a precondition for positions of authority.

Ian Blackford has claimed the proposed trade deal with Australia could see farmers and families “driven off the land”.

A year on from leaving the EU, it’s time for an annual report on how Brexit has worked out for Wales.

Australia has wanted the new agreement but, unlike Britain, has been in no screaming hurry for it. And, unlike Boris Johnson, the Australian Prime Minister faces no domestic political imperative to seal the deal.

"I can't believe as a life-long Conservative voter, I stand at the moment thinking I would be very, very unlikely to vote Conservative again at the moment," one Brexit-voting farmer bemoaned.

After holding off some formidable competition, Michelle Mone has claimed the coveted title of The New European’s Liar of the Year for 2023.

Dave Sharma says ‘megaphone diplomacy’ was behind British government suggesting Dan Tehan was a novice.

Foreign secretary Liz Truss is facing a backlash from Australian wine producers during her trip Down Under, amid complaints that any benefits from a post-Brexit trade deal will be more than wiped out by proposed changes to UK taxes on alcohol.

THE UK Government failed to heed warnings over the damage Brexit would do to Scotland’s food and farming sectors, despite “clearly being aware of the consequences”, a Scottish minister has said.

Australia’s ABC News said the comments were greeted “with a mixture of disbelief and laughter” in Canberra.

MPs have written to Liz Truss demanding parliamentary scrutiny of the government's post-Brexit trade deal with Australia.

Labour has warned Liz Truss against signing a post-Brexit trade deal with Australia before there is sufficient parliamentary scrutiny.

EU commissioner says UK was instrumental in developing many of the EU’s rules.

The end of the transition period was merely a staging post within a process that will be long with us, says Chris Grey.

Michael McCormack (acting Australian PM) - 'The big winners, in the UK-Australian trade deal, are Australian producers, Australian farmers, indeed Australia full stop... I'm not worried about the Welsh, Scottish & NI beef producers... I want what's best for Australian producers.'

From driving a tractor to driving government policy, NFU chief Minette Batters talks about the many challenges facing farming.

The NFU president has been dismayed by the government’s post-Brexit deals, but has vowed to fight on for British producers

Rural affairs ministers from Scotland and Northern Ireland write to the UK Government expressing their concerns.

Agreement will clear parliament on Wednesday under obscure behind-closed-doors process – with no debate, despite a pledge.

The Morrison government has baulked at expanding a new post-Brexit trade pact to include visa-free work and travel between Australia and the United Kingdom, arguing any special deal that circumvented existing immigration caps could be deeply unpopular in both countries.

24 MPs representing all four nations of the UK have written to Trade Secretary Liz Truss demanding proper parliamentary scrutiny of the upcoming trade agreement with Australia, amid concerns that the deal could put farmers around the country out of business.

Government condemned for trying ‘to rush it through’ – in echoes of Northern Ireland Protocol now being torn up. / MPs should block the Australia trade deal because the government has broken a promise to allow it to be scrutinised properly, a damning report says.

A zero tariff, zero quota trade deal between the UK and Australia would damage Northern Ireland’s beef and sheep trade, the new DUP leader has warned.

British farming will struggle to compete if zero-tariff trade on lamb and beef goes ahead with a post-Brexit trade deal with Australia, the president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has said.

Minette Batters decries trade deal with Australia and New Zealand. / The president of the National Farmers’ Union has accused the government of using British food producers as a “pawn” in post-Brexit trade deals.

'The Brexiters have no more idea in private than they do in public about what they are doing. Predictions based upon their concealed intent project on to them a competence they simply don’t possess.'

Almost one in five (18%) have said they are less likely to buy products labelled “Not for EU” which will be a requirement on all British meat and dairy produce from October 2024.

British Chambers of Commerce urges government to ‘cut red tape on UK-EU goods movements’.

Liz Truss insists ‘British farmers have absolutely nothing to fear from this deal at all’

Plaid Cymru has accused the UK Government of securing “tiny trade deals” as a result of a ‘frenzied dash for glossy headlines’ and is calling for an economic assessment on the impact of post-Brexit trade deals on the Welsh economy.

A UK-Australia trade deal would be the “final nail in the coffin" for Scottish crofters, Ian Blackford has said.

The trade deal between the UK and Australia should be subject to a vote in the House of Commons and Holyrood, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

THE UK is in danger of a “race to the bottom” with a controversial post-Brexit trade deal with Australia, which could result in a boost to the SNP, according to an expert.

The UK's former permanent representative to the EU suggests that post-Brexit trade deals with New Zealand and Australia contribute little to the country's finances.

A NEW report has shown that the UK government’s prospective Free Trade Agreements are projected to only add between 0% and 0.16% to the UK’s Gross Domestic Product, up to fifteen years after their implementation.

Britain's trade agreement with Japan - the first major such deal announced after Brexit - has been branded a failure as new figures show exports have DROPPED.

The first post-Brexit trade deals came into effect at midnight yesterday sparking fresh criticism of the impact they will have on UK businesses and standards. / Trade experts and representatives of the farming industry warned about the impact that the damaging deals with Australia and New Zealand would have on British businesses while delivering very few benefits.

Labour shortages caused by Brexit and accentuated by the COVID pandemic have badly affected businesses across the food and farming sector and could cause ‘permanent’ damage, UK lawmakers stated in a report published on Wednesday (6 April).

Brexit now considered a mistake by significant majority of the population as UK’s economic fortunes fade.

Scots won’t be ‘fooled’ by Tory promises, says Nicola Sturgeon’s party.

A UK cabinet row on allowing tariff free imports from Australia has exposed fears that a trade deal will destroy Scottish farming and open up another front in the independence debate.

SCOTTISH distilleries are being forced to swallow the cost of damaging Tory trade deals, the SNP have warned.

Small print – revealed by Canberra, but suppressed in London – reveals pledge to protect farmers for 15 years has been dropped.

Seven years since the referendum, how have the “promises” made by the most prominent Brexiteers panned out? Here’s a rundown of the 10 most spectacular untruths.

In this film, senior FT writers and British businesspeople examine how Brexit hit the UK economy, the political conspiracy of silence, and why there has not yet been a convincing case for a 'Brexit dividend'.

Shortages in the labour market, along with the vacancies in the health service, hospitality industry and agriculture, are the living evidence of this self-inflicted act

But the UK’s departure means far-reaching changes for the Irish economy. We are already seeing signs of how things may shake out and the really fundamental changes it means for many businesses, for consumers and for trade.

The Australian and UK governments are at odds over why key climate targets were stripped out of a future trade deal.

The government’s food strategy lacks detail or any plans for implementation, and it is contradicted by its other policies.

Across the world, there is incomprehension at what we have done to ourselves.

The London bureau chief for Germany’s public broadcaster reflects on Britain’s government.

Boris Johnson’s Trumpian remarks on the “deep state” will almost certainly have a destructive effect on British democracy.

Sam Bright summarises the key issues with the UK’s attempts to forge new economic alliances after leaving the world’s largest trading bloc.

'I don't think we've ever done as well as this.' / The UK-Australia trade deal is an 'unprecedented result' for Australia, says former Australian trade negotiator Dmitry Grozoubinski.

Otto English dissects the disadvantages that a free trade agreement between the two countries would bring to the UK.

As expected, the UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, and his Australian counterpart, Scott Morrison, have now agreed “in principle” to a free trade agreement. The fine details are still not out in the open, but the political and economic significance of the deal is becoming clearer.

The past 12 months have been littered with grandiose claims about the benefits of Brexit and the ability of the UK to demand what it wants from the EU. But the sad and inescapable conclusion is that none of those benefits exist and that the UK has been forced into a number of embarrassing retreats and compromises.

This week, Rishi Sunak talked of building 'an economy that embraces the opportunities of Brexit'. Here's 5 mins on Brexit's impact on the economy so far.

The Tories’ post-Brexit trade deal with Australia will harm UK’s farming sector by hundreds of millions of pounds, according to the government’s own assessment.

TORY ministers caved in to Australian ministers’ climate demands during talks on a post-Brexit trade deal, according to a leaked government email.

A former Tory minister has admitted a Brexit deal he backed at the time is "not actually a very good deal" and people are fuming.

A survey found that 67% felt the public receives too little information from ministers about trade deals. / More than two-thirds of the UK public feel “left in the dark” about the impact that post-Brexit trade deals struck by the Government will have.

U.K. investment of more than 1 billion pounds ($1.4 billion) to smooth the passage of goods over its new post-Brexit border failed to prevent a slump in trade with the European Union.

Faced with the unpalatable conclusion that the U.K.’s free-trade deal with Australia would further harm Brexit-hit Northern Ireland, Boris Johnson’s officials simply changed how they crunch the numbers.

However, disenchantment with Brexit has been one of the most notable trends of 2022 with a feeling that it has not lived up to the promises made at the time of the referendum. / Two thirds or 65% of British people think Brexit has gone badly compared to just 21% who think it has gone well according to an Opinium survey in early December.

The International Trade Committee, a cross-party committee of UK members of parliament, has warned the government against “overselling” its free trade agreement (FTA) with Australia, saying that “flat-footed negotiating” has led to significant concessions without securing all possible benefits in return.

Negotiations between the UK and Canada on a post-Brexit trade deal have broken down after nearly two years, following a row over beef and cheese. / Canada has been pushing for the UK to relax a ban on hormone-treated beef, which its producers say in effect shuts them out of the British market.

‘It gives the Australians the ability to say, ‘we’ll dig in – here are our terms, but we’re not going to budge’.

The British government secretly dropped a series of climate pledges in order to secure a post-Brexit trade deal with Australia, leaked emails appear to show.

Fears for farmers and anger over dropping of pledge to bind Australia to crucial climate temperature limit.

The UK is expected to offer Australia a trade deal later on Friday, under which both countries would phase out taxes on imports over 15 years.

Select committee says ministers want to rush through deal allowing food imports that fall below UK environmental standards.

Egg shortages ‘just the start’, says NFU – warning tomatoes, cucumbers and pears could become scarce.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), within the last quarter of 2022, the UK imported about £33billion more than it exported to the EU. / This is the worst performance of the UK export trade balance since records began in 1997. / This is a shocking testimony that Brexit has caused fundamental deep-rooted damage to British exports.

Malcolm Turnbull said a UK trade deal with Australia would not replace the benefits of being inside the world's largest trading bloc.

Tory MP Neil Hudson said he was worried that the free trade agreement (FTA) could see British farmers undercut and “undermined” by cheap Australian meat imports.

All trade deals combined worth less than 50p per person a year, analysis of government figures shows.

Data obtained by POLITICO shows economic toll on farmers known before key post-Brexit trade talks began.

Brexit has "permanently damaged" the UK economy, former Bank of England policymaker Michael Saunders warned as London was deposed as Europe's biggest stock market.

Meanwhile former Cabinet minister George Eustice questioned the negotiating strategy that led to the Australia and New Zealand trade deals.

Only a third of Leavers still see it as a success. So why won’t Starmer speak up?

A major feature of the 2016 Leave campaign was a refusal to define what, precisely, Brexit would mean.

The UK’s trade agreement with Australia led to British farmers and associations voicing concerns about unfair competition and a lowering of food standards.

Just seven months after singing its praises, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is attempting to rewrite the Brexit deal he signed with the European Union.

They produce half the country’s sugar needs, but expect new trade deals to make their tough situation worse.

"This is now the third Asia-Pacific agreement in a row where more than 80 per cent of the projected growth in trade has gone to exporters in those other countries," she said.

Allies of UK trade secretary Liz Truss accused of launching an ‘unprovoked attack’ on Dan Tehan on the eve of their meeting.

FUW President Glyn Roberts has described Brexit as a “mess” and says the exit from the EU is one of the factors responsible for the hardships now being faced by farmers across Wales.

As the details of Boris Johnson’s trade deals are unveiled, these two farmers are pessimistic about the post-Brexit future of their industry.

Two handpicked consignments of UK goods have been sent to Australia and New Zealand to mark new post-Brexit agreements.

Ellie Newis reviews two of the flagship free trade agreements that were supposed to reignite the UK economy.

Back in those pre-war, pre-Covid and pre-permacrisis halcyon days of early 2020, the world was the UK food sector’s oyster in terms of post-Brexit trading opportunities.