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Trade and Agriculture Commission commissioning letter: request for advice on UK-New Zealand FTA (3 March 2022)

Published 4 March 2022

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The Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP Secretary of State for International Trade
Department for International Trade
Old Admiralty Building
London
SW1A 2DY

Professor Lorand Bartels
Chair
Trade and Agriculture Commission

3 March 2022

Trade and Agriculture Commission commissioning letter: request for advice on UK-New Zealand FTA

Dear Professor Bartels

I am writing to request the TAC’s advice on the UK-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which was signed on 28 February. I am publishing this letter on gov.uk.

In line with the TAC Terms of Reference, which can be found on gov.uk, I request your advice on whether, or to what extent, the measures in the UK-New Zealand FTA that are applicable to trade in agricultural products are consistent with the maintenance of UK levels of statutory protection in relation to

a) animal or plant life or health,

b) animal welfare, and

c) environmental protections

I would like to request that this advice be produced on a chapter-by-chapter basis, though the TAC is welcome to include additional sections if it sees fit.

In producing its report I would envisage that the TAC would:

  • conduct an initial assessment of which chapters it considers to be in / out of scope (i.e., which contain measures relating to trade in agricultural products)
  • consider all relevant measures within in-scope chapters
  • with regard to relevant measures within in-scope chapters, consider the following questions:
    • Does the UK-New Zealand FTA require a change to UK domestic statutory protections in relation to animal or plant life or health; animal welfare; and the environment?
    • Does the UK-New Zealand FTA affect the UK government’s ability to set statutory protections in these specified areas?
    • Does the UK-New Zealand FTA underline any existing UK domestic statutory protections – or in some instances go beyond them – in relation to: animal or plant life or health; animal welfare; and the environment?

The TAC should also:

  • consider the landscape of statutory protections across the UK, reflecting on all parts of the UK
  • consult those it considers may assist in the preparation of this advice and note in the advice – where relevant – those whom the TAC consulted.
  • given the government’s trade agenda is of interest to many, consider how to make its advice accessible and readable to a non-technical audience

It is anticipated that advice received from the TAC will be laid before Parliament in its own right and reflected in the government’s own section 42 report.

I would request that your advice be submitted electronically to the TAC Secretariat (TACSecretariat@trade.gov.uk) by no later than 16 June 2022.

Best wishes,

The Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Secretary of State for International Trade & President of the Board of Trade

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