SYDNEY: Plans by the UK and European Union to share quotas for cheap food imports after Brexit have come under fire from Australia.
Restrictions on how many products can be imported into the EU on favourable rates are set across the bloc and concerns have been raised internationally that exporters could take a financial hit when the UK quits.
The government has agreed with Brussels to divide up the goods that can be brought in on low or zero tariffs based roughly on current rates. It would mean products imported into the UK in higher numbers than other parts of the bloc would continue to be traded in similar numbers.
But Australia’s trade minister, Steven Ciobo, said the move would impose unacceptable restrictions on nations exporting to the bloc. “The point is that you have a choice about where you place your quota at the moment,” he told the BBC.
“Therefore, given that you could put it in the UK or you could put it into continental Europe, why would we accept a proposition that would see a decline in the quota available because of the Brexit decision?”
