QMS points to the British Parliament: You still have to reach a deal!
The UK Government’s temporary import tariff regime in the case of a no-deal Brexit paints a mixed picture for Scotland's red meat sector, according to Chief Executive Alan Clarke. Despite the vote where MPs rejected a no-deal Brexit, a deal still needs to be achieved by 29 March in order to avoid an unregulated exit from the EU. Nevertheless, applying tariffs to imported beef, sheepmeat and pigmeat is seen as a reassuring measure that suggests there would be a defence against a sudden rush of product from low-cost producing nations, said Alan Clarke.
"However, the introduction of a temporary tariff rate quota for beef at zero tariff open to any country, plus the continuation of existing tariff rate quotas for non-EU product like New Zealand lamb and some beef categories, mean that most of the deliveries of beef and sheepmeat to the UK will be as business as usual. The exception is pigmeat products where modest import tariffs will be applied and will offer some support for domestic market prices", considers Mr Clarke.
He emphasized that the most potentially concerning proposal for domestic producers is that the announcement makes clear that any new tariff arrangements will not apply to direct trade between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
"The provision has been made for unconstrained movement of product directly from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland, while the proposed new tariff rate quota could also be used for direct shipments of beef from Ireland to the UK. The monitoring of these two trade flows will be crucial to avoid unintended consequences for Scotland’s red meat products,” said Mr Clarke.
Still, tariffs can protect to some extent the UK red meat sector but the challenge of market access to Europe and globally for all red meat products, which is of particular concern to the sheepmeat sector, remains unresolved, observes QMS Chief Executive.
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