FARMERS in the United States are watching the UK-Australia trade deal closely as a “template” for a future agreement.
The UK Government is close to finalising a deal which would eliminate tariffs on Australian beef, lamb and other food products over 10-15 years.
However, the SNP have criticised the deal and said it would hit rural Scottish and Welsh farmers the hardest, and there are concerns that food safety standards may be lowered as a result of the deal.
And now, Politics Home has reported that a major agricultural group in the US is watching the trade negotiations very closely.
READ MORE: Tory government's Australia trade deal compared to Highland Clearances
Dave Salmonsen, the American Farm Bureau Federation's senior director of congressional relations, confirmed that the industry in the US is keeping tabs on how it develops.
He said: “Every trade agreement is a template or influences the next one, so we will be looking closely to see what comes out of this.”
Salmonsen said the organisation, which represents 5.8 million farmers across the US, was "looking forward to seeing" the finished deal and repeated previous US industry warnings that a trade deal with the UK would hinge on food standards - which are drastically different in the US and Australia than in Europe.
Salmonsen added: "Everybody will be looking very closely at how the standards are treated in the UK's agreement with Australia.
"Whether it's beef, poultry or pork, they are going to have to find a way to grapple these issues and get past them for negotiations to move forward. Hopefully standards can be harmonised or treated as equivalent — there are different approaches you can use.
"Removing tariffs is important if you want to open up trade but there is also the issue of standards, which is a continuing issue between the US and the UK — especially on meat products.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson's Brexit deal with Australia will 'force Scots farmers off land'
"What we are looking for is to see how far the UK is willing to go.
"The 47 years the UK was in the EU and followed the EU's restrictive standards for meat imports — how much of those are going to be continued by the UK government?"
It comes as SNP MP Drew Hendry accused the UK government of “not listening” to farmers as they plough ahead with the deal in the House of Commons yesterday.
Commenting on the news that the US farmers are watching the deal closely, Hendry said it was “further cause for concern”.
He said: “It speaks volumes of the Tories’ attitude towards Scotland and its key sectors that they are ploughing ahead with a deal that would undercut the price and standards of Scottish beef and lamb - which risks the livelihoods of Scottish farmers and crofters.
“Scotland's interests are once again being thrown under the Brexit bus, which, by the UK government's own statistics, will have virtually no overall benefit for the UK economy.
"What's more, there are already eyes on the Australian Trade Deal as a template for the US deal and all that entails, which is further cause for concern.
READ MORE: Australia trade deal: Liz Truss claims UK farmers have nothing to fear
"We all want more trade, but this deal fails Scotland yet again. It would be great to sell more Whisky but not whilst sacrificing our farming industry. Westminster has never taken into account the effect on vital Scottish sectors and continues to fail to listen to Scottish business voices or consider the impacts on our very different communities.
"The SNP will continue to stand up for Scottish farming but the only way to truly protect it is for Scotland to become an independent country with the full powers to defend and promote Scotland's interests."
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