Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2021 Comments on UK-Australia Trade Deal

The comments made by Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Shadow Home Secretary, on 16 December 2021.

Labour supports a free trade deal with Australia that promotes UK interests, increases exports and creates jobs across the country. This deal is a crucial one for the Government’s trade negotiating strategy going forward as it sets precedents for what other countries are likely to demand in future agreements.

We will scrutinise the details of this agreement very carefully and will hold the Government to promises made to farming communities, its pledges on environmental protections, and on food and drink standards.

But notable from the outset is that the Government ‘list of benefits’ contains no mention of climate targets or the impact of the removal of import tariffs on UK agriculture.

Labour will hold the Government to account on the benefits it has promised to deliver from this deal.