Agriculture Bill — New Clause After Clause 42 — Requirement for Agricultural and Food Imports to Meet Domestic Standards — 12 Oct 2020 at 21:00

The majority of MPs voted not to require agricultural and food imports to meet or exceed relevant domestic standards applying matters including food safety, the environment and animal health.

MPs were considering the Agriculture Bill^[1].

The motion supported by the majority of MPs in this vote was:

• That this House disagrees with Lords amendment 16.

Lords amendment 16^[2] proposed the addition of a new clause after clause 42, to be titled:Requirement for agricultural and food imports to meet domestic standards and starting:

• (1)Chapters of an international trade agreement that contain provisions relating to the importation of agricultural and food products into the United Kingdom may not be ratified unless the conditions in subsections(2) to (5) have been met.
• (2)The condition in this subsection is that a Minister of the Crown has laid before Parliament a statement confirming that—
• (a)the agreement contains an affirmation of the United Kingdom’s rights and obligations under the World Trade Organisation Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement, and
• (b)any agricultural or food product imported into the United Kingdom under the agreement will have been produced or processed according to standards which, on the date of their importation, are equivalent to, or exceed, the relevant domestic standards and regulations in relation to—
• (i)animal health and welfare,
• (ii)protection of the environment,
• (iii)food safety, hygiene and traceability, and
• (iv)plant health.
• (3)The condition in this subsection is that the Secretary of State has by regulations specified—
• (a)the process by which the Secretary of State will determine—
• (i)that the standards to which any agricultural or food product imported into the United Kingdom under a trade agreement is produced or processed are equivalent to, or exceed, the relevant domestic standards and regulations in relation to animal health and welfare, protection of the environment,food safety, hygiene and traceability, and plant health, and
• (ii)that the enforcement of standards in relation to any product under subsection (3)(a)(i) is at least as effective as the enforcement of the equivalent domestic standards and regulations in the United Kingdom;
• (b)the “relevant domestic standards and regulations” for the purposes of subsections (2)(b) and (3)(a)(i).
• The condition in this subsection is that the chapters have been approved by a resolution of the House of Commons on a motion moved by a Minister of the Crown.
• (5)The condition in this subsection is that a motion for the House of Lords to take note of the chapters has been tabled in the House of Lords by a Minister of the Crown and—
• (a)the House of Lords has debated the motion, or
• (b)the House of Lords has not concluded a debate on the motion before the end of the period of five Lords sitting days beginning with the first Lords sitting day after the day on which the House of Commons passes the resolution mentioned in subsection (4)
• ...

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• [1] Parliament's webapage on the Agriculture Bill, Parliament.uk website
• [2] Lords amendments to the Agriculture Bill, 5 October 2020, Parliament.uk website

Debate in Parliament |