Jul 23rd, 2020
4 mins
Retailers, farming unions, consumer, hospitality, and environmental bodies from across the UK have been named as new members of the Governments new Trade and Agriculture Commission, advising on trade policies to adopt to secure opportunities for UK farmers.
The English, Scottish and Welsh branches of the National Farmers Union (NFU) are all represented, as are the Ulster Farmers Union and the Farmers’ Union of Wales. Other members include the British Retail Council, UK Hospitality, and the Food and Drink Federation.
The Commission will report directly to International Trade Secretary Liz Truss, and be chaired by food safety expert Tim Smith, who is a former Chief Executive of the Food Standards Agency and Tesco Group Technical Director.
It will advise on:
- Trade policies the Government should adopt to secure opportunities for UK farmers, while ensuring the sector remains competitive and that animal welfare and environmental standards in food production are not undermined.
- Advancing and protecting British consumer interests and those of developing countries.
- How the UK engages the WTO to build a coalition that helps advance higher animal welfare standards across the world.
- Developing trade policy that identifies and opens up new export opportunities for the UK agricultural industry – in particular for SMEs – and that benefits the UK economy as a whole.
It will be set up for six months and submit an advisory report at the end of its work which will be presented to Parliament by the Department for International Trade.
Food and Agriculture industries are two of the largest manufacturing sectors that employ more than 4 million people and contribute £120 billion to our economy. The new Commission will play a crucial part advising on how trade policy can create further growth and stimulate this critical pillar of our economy.
For more information, please click here: https://www.gov.uk/government/trade-and-agriculture-commission-membership-announced
