Brexit farming deal likened to ‘sacrificial lambs’ in brutally honest New Zealand news report

The UK’s post-Brexit trade deal with New Zealand has been slammed by a New Zealand news report which said it is making British farmers feel like “sacrificial lambs”.

In a package by Newshub, reporters interviewed stakeholders affected by the new deal and said that they had got a pretty negative impression from them, leading them to make the savage comparison.

It comes after the two countries signed the free trade deal last week after 16 months of negotiation, removing tariffs on a range of UK goods exported to New Zealand.

The Department for International Trade said it would “remove barriers to trade and deepen access for our advanced tech and services companies”, and it would also make it easier for small businesses to take advantage of the New Zealand market.

However, the government’s own forecasts predict a trade deal with New Zealand could overall slightly reduce the size of the UK economy, with gains from cheaper imports being offset by damage to domestic farming communities.

Meanwhile, only 0.2 per cent of UK trade is done with the country.

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One of the people the reporters interviewed, Liz Webster from Save British Farming said: “It’s our surrendering to you New Zealanders and giving you a great deal and we’re getting nothing out of it.”

“We’re losers,” she added.

Elsewhere, Lord Deben – chair of the independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) which advises the government also criticised it and said the deal put both British farmers and consumers at risk at a farming conference last week.

Deeming it a “disgrace”, he added: “It is not acceptable and it is completely at odds with everything the government has promised to do to safeguard our farmers and protect UK consumers. We are looking for sustainability – not unsustainable trade deals.”

Not the best set of reviews, then.