A SCOTTISH Labour MP has been slapped down for his comments praising the recently announced UK-US trade deal.
Gregor Poynton, the MP for Livingston, described it as a “great deal for Scotland” on Friday.
But SNP trade spokesperson Chris Law took issue with that description, telling The National it “actually penalises all of our sectors”.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US president Donald Trump spoke in front of cameras on opposite sides of the Atlantic on Thursday to announce what was described as a “full and comprehensive” trade agreement.
But under the agreement – which experts have said isn’t a full trade deal but rather specific agreements in certain areas – the 10% tariffs announced by Trump last month are kept for the vast majority of UK exports.
This includes Scotch whisky, which is facing 10% tariffs that will climb to 25% next June without a new agreement.
Salmon was also left out of the deal, leading industry body Salmon Scotland to warn that the 10% tariff "barrier" meant further UK-US trade talks were necessary.
"This represents not just a step forward, but a tremendous opportunity that will boost economic growth and create jobs across Scotland and the UK,” Poynton told The Daily Record.
"From the early indications, this looks to be a great deal for Scotland, opening up the world's largest economy to our exceptional Scottish products and innovation."
But Law hit back at Poynton’s “great deal for Scotland” claim.
“To be very clear, first of all, it's not a full and comprehensive deal,” he said.
“It's not, as Donald Trump calls it, a big and fantastic deal. In fact, it’s a longer term negotiation to try and get back to somewhere we were before Trump entered office.”
Law added: “We now face 10% tariffs across all our food and drink, as well as other sectors that we didn't have before.
“So trying to say it's a great deal for Scotland is essentially saying that Trump's deal is better than we had before. It's not.
“It actually penalises all of our sectors, including whisky, gin, and then, of course, our food sectors as well.”
The MP for Dundee Central also stressed that “we haven’t seen the detail yet”.
“Kate Forbes made it clear last night she hadn't seen or been involved in the trade negotiations,” he said.
“Yet yesterday, Douglas Alexander said on the floor of the House of Commons that he shared detail with the Scottish Government as well as the other devolved governments.”
Law added: “So, it gives me some concern because that means the detail is not being discussed properly in Scotland or indeed with Scottish businesses.”
Law then circled back to Poynton’s claim.
“So, I think for Gregor Poynton to be suggesting that this is a great deal for Scotland completely belies the fact that this isn't a comprehensive deal,” the MP said.
“There is a 10% tariff across all our sectors, and we still need to hear absolute clarity from the UK Government about what this means for trade with the EU, which is the UK’s largest trading partner and largest sector for our food and drink. That would give me some real concerns.”
