Developing countries benefit from high standards in trade deals, says shadow TAC

The Future British Standards Coalition (FBSC) was set up to explore ways to protect standards in trade deals after concerns were raised about the weakness of the official TAC established by Government.

Now the group, made up of representatives from farming bodies, public health practitioners, caterers and food and animal welfare experts, has published an interim report.

The paper points to ‘compelling evidence’ from India of the benefits of insisting on high import standards, where the state of Punjab decided to ban the use of nine pesticides to boost Basmati exports to the EU and UK market.

But just last week, in the House of Commons, Trade Secretary Liz Truss claimed a blanket ban on low-standard imports would prevent developing countries, such as Kenya, from exporting their foodstuffs to the UK.