THE UK-Australia trade deal has been likened to the Highland clearances by an Alba MP.
Kenny MacAskill made the comparison during an urgent question debate on the upcoming deal in the House of Commons this afternoon.
MacAskill challenged Greg Hands, UK trade minister, over the plans, while the SNP’s Drew Hendry blasted the UK Government for “not listening to those on the sharp end”.
It comes days after SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford challenged Alister Jack to “fight back or resign” over the Tory trade deal.
In the Commons today, MacAskill asked: “Over 200 years ago the Highland Clearances saw people shamefully replaced by sheep for landlords' profits, now this trade deal threatens to supplant those sheep with cheap imports for Tory dogma.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson's Brexit deal with Australia will 'force Scots farmers off land'
“What does it say about this Tory government that they don’t even care about Scottish sheep, let alone Scottish crofters and farmers?”
In response, Hands said: “Well Mr Speaker, let me just tell you a few things about that. I think we have to understand the trade flows in beef and lamb from Australia already. We have to understand the production prices are twice in some of these asian markets than they are in the UK, which makes it very competitive for Australia to sell into markets like Japan, Korea, where the domestic production price for beef for example is twice that in the UK.
“On the lamb quota it's not even fully used at the moment, the lamb quota into the UK.”
Drew Hendry, the SNP’s Westminster spokesperson for business, energy and industrial strategy, also grilled the Trade Secretary on the impact of the deal for those in Scotland.
He said: “Everybody wants to see more trade deals done, but the Minister simply isn’t listening to those at the sharp end. National Farmers Union Scotland President Martin Kennedy has said, and I quote, ‘Our seafood industry has already been hit hard by Brexit, and now Scottish farming is next to be sacrificed, and once again it’s Scotland’s key industries which will bear the brunt of a Tory Brexit people here didn’t vote for’.
READ MORE: Australia trade deal: Douglas Ross told to keep promise to Scottish farmers
“NFU England have warned ministers that they would struggle to compete if zero tariff trade on lamb or beef went ahead, and the RSPCA have warned that tariff free access for Australia would betray the public, farmers and animals.
“These are just some of the warnings to government from those affected, not from politicians, so will the Minister rule out tariff free access for Australian agricultural produce?”
Hendry also pointed out that “nothing must threaten our actions to mitigate climate change” and that Australia has “ lagged behind other advanced economies when it comes to addressing climate change” and asked for reassurances.
Hands replied by talking about Scotch whisky imports to Australia and saying that there would be no impact on food standards.
He added: “I don’t think that whatever assurances I’ve given him today or whatever turns out to actually be in the deal, would make him and the SNP support this deal.
"When it comes to trade Mr Speaker, the SNP are isolationists and against the best interests of Scotland.”
READ MORE: Australia trade deal: Liz Truss claims UK farmers have nothing to fear
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