Brexit food tariff cut is ‘ludicrous utopianism’: Clegg

By Noli Dinkovski

- Last updated on GMT

Clegg: ‘Removing tariffs would mean throwing away all of our bargaining chips’
Clegg: ‘Removing tariffs would mean throwing away all of our bargaining chips’

Related tags Drink industry Uk Eu International trade

Brexit enthusiasts who believe leaving the EU will result in lower food and drink tariffs are suffering from “ludicrous utopianism”, the former deputy prime minister has claimed.

Lowering or removing tariffs would work against the national interest and be opposed by both UK food and farming groups, and countries the UK would seek to forge new trade partnerships with, according to Liberal Democrat MP Nick Clegg.

Speaking at the Food and Drink Federation’s ‘Exiting the EU’ conference in London on Tuesday (November 1), Clegg revealed details of his recently-published paper on the impact of Brexit on the food and drink industry.

In the paper, he described the food and drink industry as the “bellwether”​ sector for the health of the British economy as a whole.

Clegg used the conference to give three reasons why he believed food tariffs would not be lowered after Brexit.

“Firstly, those tariffs are not just there to protect French or German farmers. They are there with the active, staunch support of the National Farmers’ Union and the farming communities in this country,”​ he said.

‘Leading proponent’

“We have been the leading proponent for many of these tariffs, in the name of our own agricultural sector, and have done so for decades. And it is naïve in the extreme to imagine that is suddenly going to change overnight.”

Clegg’s second reason was that it would be a “shockingly self-defeating”​ national interest move.

“Removing tariffs would mean throwing away all of our bargaining chips before the negotiations have even started,”​ he said.

“Access into European and British agricultural markets is one of the biggest prizes that many of the countries that we may negotiate with trade agreements in the future want.

“So, if we give them that prize before they even asked for it, they will have very little incentive to give us concessions on other sectors, such as financial or legal services – sectors that we are highly competitive in, and where they are blocking access.”

‘Panoply of trade-offs’

The final reason concerned the “panoply of trade-offs”​ the government would need to make in the Brexit process.

“While I can understand those advocating for the removal on European tariffs on things like sugar cane, just imagine the reaction of the British sugar beet farmers, and those who use sugar beet to produce and process sugar, to the prospect the UK market will be flooded with low-cost sugar cane produced outside the EU?”​ he said.

“Similarly, does anyone in this room seriously think that we are going to get a positive response when the UK government asks the Spanish government for a special deal for, say, car manufacturers in the north-east of England, while at the same time absolutely hammering Spanish exports of oranges to Britain, because we are opening up other markets? I think not.”

Clegg dismissed the idea that the UK would decimate its farming community, damage its negotiating capacity with third counties and diminish its ability to stand up for other non-agricultural sectors as “not only far-fetched, but breathtakingly naïve”​.

In his paper, Clegg detailed a series of other food and drink industry shocks​ resulting from a ‘hard’ Brexit.

He also set out a list of questions that the food and drink industry should be asking the government.

Clegg’s 12 key Brexit questions

  1. How do Ministers intend to bridge the gap between the end of the Article 50 process and the signing of Free Trade Agreement with the EU? Do they accept that a transitional deal is essential?
  2. Given the need for a smooth transition for farm businesses, how and when will the government consult on the design of a comprehensive UK agricultural policy?
  3. Will the government guarantee the right of EU workers, who are essential to the production of food in the UK, to stay after the UK leaves the EU?
  4. How will the UK seek to determine its share of the Tariff Rate Quotas that currently guarantee low-cost imports of key food products?
  5. How will the UK’s international obligations under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea affect its ability to renegotiate fishing quotas?
  6. Will the UK limit access to its waters for foreign fleets? Will fishing rights be traded for other benefits?
  7. Will government undertake to protect UK farmers from cheap food imports produced to lower standards?
  8. Will existing EU food and drink regulations be copied in their entirety into UK law? What role will parliament have in scrutinising this process?
  9. Will new EU food and drink regulations be automatically incorporated into UK law? If so, how does this constitute ‘taking back control?’ If not, how will the government prevent the development of non-tariff barriers to trade?
  10. What will happen to CAP payments after 2020? How will the government ensure that UK farming retains its competitive position vis-à-vis highly subsidised EU producers?
  11. Will a future system of farming subsidies be fully devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland? If so, how will Ministers ensure a level playing field between the nations of the UK?
  12. How is it possible for Ireland to fulfil its legal obligations under the EU Customs Union without establishing a hard border between North and South? How will the government protect integrated businesses operating on both sides of the Irish border?

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