EU Withdrawal Agreement: Everything farmers need to know

The ‘backstop’ – what is it?

The concerns of Ministers who have quit centre on the ‘backstop’ arrangement which has been designed to prevent a ‘hard border’ being erected on the island of Ireland.

This backstop would keep the whole of the UK in a ‘single customs territory’ with the EU in order to avoid new checks at the Irish border.

The Government insists it will not be used because a future trade agreement or separate Irish-specific mechanism can deal with any border issues, but some experts believe the backstop could become the default position.

Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the backstop will be activated if a deal on a future UK-EU relationship is not in place by December 31 2020.

Alternatively, the UK can apply for an extension of the transition period before July 1 2020 with agreement from the EU. This mechanism can only be used once.

What happens to agri-food trade in a backstop scenario?

In a backstop scenario, there would be no tariffs, quotas or checks on rules of origin for agri-food trade between the UK and the EU.

The UK would also be unable to drop tariffs on agricultural goods from countries outside the EU, making trade deals with the UK less attractive for nations like the USA.

The customs union which the UK would be tied into is not fully defined in the Withdrawal Agreement, with the two sides having to agree how it will operate by July 2020.

But in theory, the UK could be forced to open up its market to any country the EU concludes a free trade agreement with, without being offered reciprocal access and with no say over the terms of the deal.

This is the position Turkey is in with regard to its own customs arrangements with the EU. Though Turkey’s customs arrangements with the EU do not cover agriculture, the UK’s would.

Potentially then, the EU could sign future trade deals with other countries – such as Australia and New Zealand – which may have an impact on the UK’s domestic lamb market, for example.

Northern Ireland-UK agri-food trade

Further provisions in the backstop agreement would force Northern Ireland (NI) – but not the rest of the UK – to maintain EU food standards, such as bans on hormone-treated beef or chlorinated chicken.

This means existing checks at ports on agricultural products travelling from Great Britain to Northern Ireland would need to be ramped up.

Having a different set of rules in place for NI, which would have no democratic say in their creation, and increasing trade barriers between NI and the rest of the UK is a red line for unionist politicians who have vowed to vote against the deal in parliament.

‘Level playing field’ provisions

If the backstop does come into play, the UK will also be forced to follow EU environmental rules on air quality and nature and biodiversity protection to ensure a ‘level playing field’ for competition.

Key EU environmental principles such as ‘polluter pays’ and the ‘precautionary principle’ will be enshrined in UK law under the terms of the agreement too.

The NFU has previously criticised the EU for inappropriate application of the precautionary principle, which it claims has led law-makers to focus on theoretical harm, as opposed to actual risk, when it comes to crop protection products.

Adopting the precautionary principle could be another barrier to negotiating free trade agreements with other countries.

Both the US and Australia complained to the World Trade Organisation’s Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade last year about the EU’s hazard-based approach to crop protection regulation.

Can the UK leave the backstop?

If at any point after the transition period ends, the UK or the EU considers the backstop is no longer necessary, it can notify the other party.

A Joint Committee, co-chaired by an EU Commissioner and a UK Minister, or other specified high-level officials, will then consider this notification.

After consideration, the backstop may be terminated, but only with the agreement of both the UK and the EU.