ISSUE 413 SEPTEMBER 2020 llais ffermwyr Cymru Y TIR
A nrhydedd i Glyn Powell o Gwm Senni
tudalen 6
Supporting Love Lamb Week page 1 3
Welsh farmers must be protected:
FUW responds to UK Internal Market White Paper
IN response to a UK Government white paper on internal markets, the FUWhas stressed the importance of protectingWelsh farmers against unfair competition from other parts of the UK and countries across the globe, and thatWelsh devolu tionmu st be respected. Inhis introdu ctionto the UK InternalMarketWhite
Paper, Alok SharmaMP, Secretary of State for Bu siness, Energy and Indu strial Strategy, highlights how increasing differences betweenru les and standards applied by different Governments inthe UK’s fou r nations after Brexit cou ld cau se market distortion, discriminationand unfair competitionfor bu sinesses ina way not seenfor hundreds of years. TheWhite Paper therefore proposes measu res to
prevent su ch impacts based onthe principles of ‘non‐ discrimination’ and ‘mu tu al recognition’ FUWHead of Policy, Dr Nick Fenwick, (pictured rig ht),
said: “We are glad the UK Government has wokenu p to the need to take this issu e seriou sly as it has previou sly beenkicked into the long grass becau se it is so politically contentiou s.” Dr Fenwick said that the FUWhad beenhighlighting
the need to address this issu e since the EU Referendum in2016, and inJu ly 2018 the FUWhad pu blished a detailed paper considering the matter entitled ‘Filling the Void ‐ Steps towards a post‐Brexit UK policy framework’. “While we welcome the UK Government’s recognition
of this issu e, we are extremely concerned at the su ggestionthat ru les cou ld simply be dictated by London, rather thanthere being a means by which to reach agreement betweenUK Governments.” Dr Fenwick said su ch a move cou ld undermine
devolu tionand work to the disadvantage ofWelsh farmers. “The considerationof su ch matters inaWhite Paper
withinmonths of the end of theWithdrawal Agreement period gives u s very little time to hold proper detailed discu ssions and introdu ce the type of stru ctu res and bodies we tru ly need to make recommendations, enforce regu lations, arbitrate onmatters etc. ina way that is fair. “It also gives u s very little time to sort ou t what are
hu ge constitu tional issu es which also happento be cru cial to the running ofWelsh bu sinesses,” he added. Inresponse to theWhite Paper, the Unionfu rther
stressed that while the UK Government is right to recognise the dangers of direct and indirect discrimination, unfair competition, market distortion
and other issu es that cou ld arise withinthe GB/UK internal market, it shou ld also recognise that the same issu e exists across international borders. “Giventhe cu rrent trade negotiations with the EU and
USA, for example, the UK Government shou ld also recognise the likelihood of su ch adverse impacts occu rring as a resu lt of inappropriate or ill‐considered trade deals which expose u s to different standards or unfair competition,” said Dr Fenwick. “This is a particu lar concernwith regard to agricu ltu ral
produ ce produ ced to environmental, health and welfare, social and other standards that do not meet those requ ired of UK produ cers, and su bsidy and su pport regimes that differ significantly to those introdu ced infu tu re inthe UK’s fou r nations.” At present, while significant differences betweenthe
UK and the EU is allowed under SingleMarket, Common Agricu ltu ral Policy and related ru les, these are within strict boundaries aimed at minimising market distortion and unfair competitionwhile recognising regional and national needs. If a trade deal with the EU is reached, there is
potential for market distortionand unfair competition for UK produ cers as a resu lt of the fact that the EU will continu e to pay farmers direct su pport, bu tWales and England want to move over to environmental ‘pu blic goods’ style payments ‐ with many lobbying for farm payments to be cu t altogether. “The EU’s reaffirmed commitment to maintaining
direct su pport for active farmers throu gh CAP payments, cou pled with a move inWales and other parts of the UK to get rid of direct farm su pport infavou r of environmental payments, wou ld clearly introdu ce the kind of unfair competitionthe UK Government refers to inthis paper. “This danger is no different inprinciple to the dangers
recognised inthe InternalMarketsWhite Paper, so also shou ld be recognised by ou r Governments ‐ not only in the context of unfair competitionfrom the EU, ou r most important trading partner interms of food, bu t also countries like the USA if we are to strike a deal with them. “We need a trade deal with the EU to avoid massive
damage to farms and other bu sinesses, bu t we also need ou r governments to recognise the self inflicted damage that cou ld be done by radically changing ou r ownfarm su pport systems while ou r maincompetitors twenty or thirty miles away over the sea continu e with direct farm su pport,” he added.
Welsh Government launches consultation on Basic Payment and RDP changes. See page 4 for more details.
The FUW’s Filling the Void ‐ Steps towa fra
mework pa nb per ca e found a
rdsapost‐Brexit UK policy t: https://rb.g y/xwsmq8 (URL ha een shortened).
sb
M
the voice of Welsh farming
£2.50
Keep up-to-date with news in your county pages 2 2 & 2 3
OUR
✓ ✓
✓
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓
✓
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24
