Details of trade deal agreed between UK and Australia to be announced

THE UK and Australia have reportedly agreed the broad terms of a post-Brext trade deal.

A formal announcement from Boris Johnson and Australian PM Scott Morrison is expected later today. 

The new trade deal is expected to give UK and Australian food producers and other businesses easier access to each other's markets.

However, there has been some unease about the implications of any agreement, with Scottish farmers in particular concerned about being undercut by cheap imports.

According to the National Farmers Union (NFU), Australian farmers are able to produce beef at a lower cost of production, partly due to lower safeguards, which means they can use some hormone growth promoters, pesticides, and feed additives that are banned in the UK.

It’s thought the deal will see tariffs and quotas likely to be removed within 15 years.

Meanwhile, a cross-party group of MPs has written to Johnson demanding he give parliament greater powers to scrutinise and approve the deal. 

Writing to Liz Truss, the international trade secretary, more than 20 MPs from all four nations of the UK said they had “urgent concerns” over the impact of the agreement. 

“Any trade deal agreed with Australia must receive proper scrutiny and approval by parliament to assuage our concerns and the concerns of the public,” they wrote in the letter, co-ordinated by pro-internationalist campaign group Best for Britain.