Britain will soon join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership CPTPP) with a formal signing on July 16th. The Agreement will open trade with eleven nations and will phase out import tariffs on food products including eggs over a ten-year period. U.K. egg producers are concerned that the Agreement will allow low-priced eggs from conventional cages to be imported and sold against higher-priced domestic eggs produced at a greater cost using barns and free-range housing.
U.K. producers invested heavily in conversion from conventional cages to comply with E.U. directive 1999/ 74 banning cages from 2012 onwards. The Chief Executive of the British Egg Industry Council, Mark Williams stated, “It is almost unbelievable that the Government would let consumers down like this. To rubber stamp a deal which effectively sanctions the importation of eggs from conventional cage systems completely undermines the countrywide standards that are adhered to by the U.K. egg industry.” He added, “It is incumbent on the Government to review the position of eggs and eggs products to ensure that they are granted sensitive status before the CPTPP deal is signed.”
The British Egg Industry Council has received support from Compassion In World Farming and the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, instrumental in motivating the transition from cage housing. A spokesperson for the U.K. Department for Business and Trade stated, “The U.K. has not lowered our food, animal welfare or environmental standards in order to accede to the CPTPP and there is absolutely nothing in the Agreement which would require us to lower these standards.” He added, “Without exception, all imports into the U.K. must comply with our existing import requirements.”
Concern over the CPTPP Agreement relates to previous post-Brexit trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand that have proven to be a disadvantage for U.K. farmers. The current situation is characterized by George Eustice, a former Environmental Minister, as a “poor deal for the U.K”. He commented, “The truth of the matter is that the U.K. gave away far too much for far too little in return.