Welsh farmers say they have "grave concerns" a trade deal between the UK and Australia could be "catastrophic for animal welfare, the environment, our family farms and our food security".
The deal is the first to be negotiated from scratch since the UK left the EU.
While the deal has been agreed between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison at a meeting in Downing Street the final Agreement in Principle will not be published for a number of days.
Downing Street has however said that British products like cars, Scotch whisky, biscuits and ceramics will be cheaper to sell into Australia, boosting UK industries that employ 3.5 million people across the country.
British farmers will be protected by a cap on tariff-free imports for 15 years, using tariff rate quotas and other safeguards. We are also supporting agricultural producers to increase their exports overseas, including to new markets in the Indo-Pacific. Brits under the age of 35 will be able to travel and work in Australia more freely, opening exciting opportunities for young people. Export times will be reduced, it says.
In their press release announcing details, Downing Street say: "The free trade deal will eliminate tariffs on Australian favourites like Jacob’s Creek and Hardys wines, swimwear and confectionery, boosting choice for British consumers and saving households up to £34 million a year."
In return it says the deal will see a 5% tariff on Scotch whisky removed, will help the 450 businesses in Wales who exported to Australia last year, in particular life science companies and chemicals manufacturers and it will simplify customs procedures and tariffs for Northern Irish products.
In response, the Farmers’ Union of Wales has called on Wales' MPs to scrutinise the bill fully in the Commons.
FUW President Glyn Roberts said: “We have grave concerns that we could end up with a deal that’s catastrophic for animal welfare, the environment, our family farms and our food security - and that it will be set in stone.
Mr Roberts said MPs have to take extremely seriously the warnings about the implications of a trade deal that sets the UK on a permanent legally binding course to open us up to food produced to lower environmental and welfare standards and undermines our food security and the viability of family farms.
Over the last month the FUW has written to the Prime Minister and met with Government Ministers and MPs from across Wales, highlighting the major differences between UK and Australian standards and the economic damage cheap food imports could cause to our family farms.
The union has also written to the Welsh Affairs Committee asking it to conduct an inquiry into the implications of a bad deal for Wales’ farmers, food standards and rural communities.
“We have made it clear during our meetings and in correspondence with all Welsh MPs that we are not opposed to a UK-Australia deal, but we are opposed to a damaging deal that paves the way for further deals that add to that damage,” he said.
