THE SNP have slammed Boris Johnson for “betraying” Scottish farmers over plans to go ahead with a tariff-free trade deal with Australia.
It has been reported Prime Minister Boris Johnson will offer Australia a 15-year transition to a zero-tariff, zero-quota trade pact.
It is understood that during a Cabinet meeting held on Thursday night, a row over the deal was resolved, but a spokesperson for Downing Street said “negotitations are still ongoing”.
However, the SNP have pointed out the devastating effect that this will have on Scottish farmers and crofters and could “put them out of business”.
The deal would allow Australian imports of beef and lamb to undercut the price and standards of Scottish products, according to the SNP.
There are also concerns that the move could “wreck a way of life” that has existed in Scotland for generations.
SNP Westminster Leader Ian Blackford said: "Boris Johnson has utterly betrayed Scottish farmers and crofters with a post-Brexit trade deal that threatens the viability of Scottish lamb and beef farming, and could wreck a way of life that has existed across Scotland for generations.
"It is completely unacceptable that the Tory government is threatening to impose a deal that would undercut the price and standards of Scottish beef and lamb - putting Scottish farmers out of business.
"Yet again, Scotland's interests have been thrown under the Brexit bus - just as they were when the Tories sold out our fishing communities, and dragged Scotland out of the EU against our will.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson intervenes in Cabinet row over Brexit trade deal
"Brexit has already cost Scotland billions of pounds, and this Tory deal would be a disaster for our agricultural sector. There is a very real danger that many farmers will lose their livelihoods, rural businesses will collapse, and families will be driven off the land.
"The SNP will continue to stand up for Scotland's agricultural sector but it is clearer than ever that the only way to properly protect our farming industry is for Scotland to become an independent country with the full powers to defend and promote Scotland's interests."
International Trade Secretary Liz Truss and Environment Secretary George Eustice are thought to be at odds over the proposals and the impact on farmers.
Truss, who has said she wants an agreement in principle by early June, is thought to favour a zero-tariff, zero-quota approach in order to boost the flow of trade.
But such a move could leave farmers vulnerable to competition from beef and lamb producers in Australia, and Eustice has suggested that quotas could be used to protect them.
It is understood that both Truss and Eustice were present at the Cabinet meeting where an agreement has reportedly been made.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson's Brexit deal with Australia will 'force Scots farmers off land'
The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said: “There are a regular series of meetings on not just this trade deal but the deals we have been working on throughout.
“The Prime Minister met with the ministers involved, like Liz Truss obviously, as part of the regular process.”
Johnson “wants to maximise the massive opportunities presented by post-Brexit trade deals”, the spokesperson said.
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