A TARIFF-FREE trade deal with global sheepmeat superpower New Zealand is reportedly just weeks away – but the UK Government has yet to honour its promise to create a Trade and Agriculture Commission to scrutinise such deals from UK farmers' point of view.

Already, the Johnson government's Department for International Trade website is pumping out press releases promising consumers cheaper food and drink as a result of the imminent agreement with New Zealand, prompting alarm amongst domestic farmers who are struggling to make internal supply chains work due to the unprecedented shortage of labour fomented by the twin upheavals of Brexit and Covid.

Read more: UK sheep farmers the 'sacrificial lambs' of free trade

This week, the UK farming unions journeyed to Westminster to lobby Parliament to 'Back British Farming' and reject any political plan that increases the nation's reliance on imports. As The Scottish Farmer went to press, NFU Scotland president Martin Kennedy, director of policy Jonnie Hall and political affairs manager Beatrice Morrice were due to hold face-to-face discussions with leading politicians, as part of the union’s first visit to Westminster since the start of the pandemic.

Mr Kennedy said: “The huge shortfall in labour has left food and drink supply chains creaking at the seams. Huge losses have already been recorded on Scottish soft fruit and vegetable farms because of labour availability and disruption to food processing and distribution has seen a growing number of empty shelves in shops and supermarkets as we start the Christmas countdown.

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“As we celebrate #BackBritishFarming Day and the incredible standards we produce to, it is galling to hear that the UK Government is on the verge of signing up to another free trade deal that will permit a growing level of imports while delivering very little to our food and drink sector in return," said Mr Kennedy. "Granting unfettered access to our markets to a major sheep and dairy producing nation like New Zealand comes on the back of a similar damaging deal being signed with Australia in June.

“The blunt fact is that neither deal has been afforded any kind of proper parliamentary scrutiny as the Government’s promised Statutory Trade and Agriculture Commission has yet to be established. Safeguards against market disruption are also promised but the cumulative impact of these deals will be profound for UK farming and, if handled badly, may make it impossible for some of our family farming businesses to continue to compete with high levels of low-cost imports produced standards that would not be allowed here.”

Cross-party MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee have accused the government of 'running down the clock' on establishing the Trade and Agriculture Commission, whilst pressing on unhindered with its overseas negotiations.

EFRA Committee chair, Neil Parish MP, said: "These delays – both in responding to the original TAC's recommendations, and in establishing its replacement – are unacceptable. The Government has repeated its ambition that the TAC will advise on future strategy. It is difficult to see how this can happen when negotiations are ongoing and the TAC does not exist.

"By dragging its heels in responding to the conclusions of the former Trade and Agriculture Commission's report, and failing to appoint the membership of the new body, the Government is effectively running the clock down on stakeholders' input into future trade deals. There is an increasing risk that the Government’s continued inaction in this regard could be read as indifference to British stakeholders."

Touting the trade deal with New Zealand, Secretary of State for International Trade Liz Truss said: “We are working round the clock to get this deal done in the coming weeks. We are both big fans of each other’s high-quality products, so this could be a huge boost that allows British shoppers to enjoy lower prices and British exports to be even more competitive.

“New Zealand and the UK are natural partners united by modern values. An agreement would reflect those ideals and is a win-win for both countries. It would also be an important step towards our accession to CPTPP, helping the UK gain access to 11 of the world’s biggest and fastest-growing economies across the Pacific region and opening doors to dynamic markets across the world."