EURACTIV reports that, failing to conclude a trade agreement between the EU and the UK would have serious consequences for the agrifood sector, major EU agrifood stakeholders said.
As the fourth round of negotiations on the EU-UK future relationship draws to a close, groups working in the sector have expressed their concern, with Farmers association Copa-Cogeca, the European liaison committee for agricultural and agrifood trade Celcaa, and FoodDrinkEurope, saying there is a “growing risk that no agreement will be reached before the end of the current transition period.”
They stressed that a combination of ‘no agreement’ and ‘no extension’ of transitional arrangements, combined with the introduction of tariffs and the potential for regulatory divergence, would “severely disrupt integrated supply chains” and agri-food trade between the EU and the UK, which amounted to €58 billion in 2019.