Question reference: S5W-06423
- Asked by: Maree Todd, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 23 January 2017
-
Current status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 2 February 2017
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding whether any future trade agreement with the United States will not have a negative impact on farming standards in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government is fully committed to working and discussing with the UK Government, as well as the other Devolved Administrations, the implications of the UK’s exit from the EU. In line with ‘Scotland’s Place in Europe’, the Scottish Government has set out in these discussions, proposals that would protect Scotland’s interests, making clear the importance of future trade arrangements to our economy and the need to ensure an outcome appropriate to the needs of farming and food production in Scotland. It is vital that Scotland’s interests, including on all rural matters, are represented and protected in any proposed trade agreements with the US and other countries. That is why Scottish Ministers must be involved fully in all such negotiations and discussions. These discussions will continue at a Ministerial level when Roseanna Cunningham and I meet with UK and Devolved Administration counterparts next month.