express– Emily Thornberry was invited on Sky News to discuss the proposed Australian trade deal which has raised concerns among British farmers who fear a zero-tariff agreement may mean they are priced out by cheaper Australian agriculture. Ms Thornberry attacked the Government for signing up for every deal they could find and stated they did not have a trade policy that was effective. She explained the reason why is because the European Union had looked after the UK’s trade policy for “50 years” before Brexit and that International Trade Secretary Liz Truss was being complacent in her deals.
Speaking on Sky News, Ms Thornberry discussed several topics including travel, Labour election defeat and the Australian trade deals.
Host Stephen Dixon grilled the Labour frontbencher on the recent local elections and asked “What about any Labour policies?
“After what we saw at the recent election which were not good for the Labour Party as a whole.
“And what one of the key criticisms coming out before and after polling day was that you were not presenting any solid policy, is that going to change?
Ms Thornberry replied: “Well I think it was a mixed picture, I regret losing any of our counsellors or elected representatives.
“In some places, we did really well in some places we didn’t do well, of course, we certainly would want to do better.
“We need to do better in the future and we are developing policies.
“I can talk to you if – how long have you got – I’m quite happy to talk about Labour’s trade policy.
“I mean, in the end, what we need to do is start off by saying we haven’t had a trade policy in this country for 50 plus years because the European Union basically did it for us.
“So now that we’re out of the European Union we need to work out what are the priorities for our economy and how do we get a trade policy before the election.”
But Mr Dixon attacked the Labour shadow minister and said she and her party should have their trade policies sorted before elections.
Ms Thornberry bit back and said: “Do you know what, we’ve got an international trade secretary who hasn’t got a trade policy at the moment.
“So excuse me, her trade policy is just to sign up to as many deals as possible and never mind what it is that you’re signing up to.
“A trade deal, in the end, says we will make it easier for our market to be accessed by whatever industry it is.
“Obviously that will always have an impact on your domestic industry.”
Ms Thornberry continued and said safeguards needed to be put in place to protect both sides’ domestic industries from the trade agreements.
International Trade Secretary Liz Truss is pushing ahead with an Australian trade deal that the Government hopes to sign by June – just before the G7 summit.
But a row has reportedly erupted among government ministers who have fallen out over the terms of the agreement.
A proposed zero-tariff deal has been reportedly opposed by Environment Secretary George Eustice as he fears the ramifications on British farmers.
Cabinet Minister Michael Gove is also opposed to the deal as he fears the political fallout from a zero-tariff arrangement.
