Written questions, answers and statements

Agricultural Products: UK Trade with EU

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Question for Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

UIN 28895, tabled on 1 July 2022

Question

Kevin Hollinrake
Conservative
Thirsk and Malton
Commons

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it his Department's policy to reach a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement with the EU.

Answer

Victoria Prentis
Conservative
Banbury
Commons

Answered on

11 July 2022

The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) remains the starting point for our new relationship. The sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) chapter of the TCA puts in place a framework that allows the UK and the EU to take informed decisions to reduce their respective SPS controls, with a commitment to avoid unnecessary barriers to trade.

We are open to discussions with the EU on steps we can take to reduce trade friction; however, these cannot be on the basis of dynamic alignment with EU rules, as this would compromise UK sovereignty over our own laws.

Answered by

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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