London: Australia could see an influx of British booze, bankers, cosmetics, cars, magazines, BBC TV shows and salmon under a post-Brexit trade deal with the United Kingdom, according to the results of a major consultation conducted by the British government released on Thursday.

The consultation also uncovered fears that an Australia-UK trade deal would lead to a spate of salmonella in Britain – with submissions linking our “lower standards of animal welfare” to “high rates of food poisoning” in Australia.

There was widespread concern among British industries that Australia would benefit more from dropping existing trade barriers.

Salmonella is rampant in Australia, according to nervous Brits.Credit:Rocky Mountain Laboratories,NIAID,NIH

They complained it was too hard to sell British cheese and beef to Australia, and that our regulations change too often.

And they pointed out that the UK’s trade with the Europen Union was much more important than with Australia, and wanted the government to prioritise a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU.

The 14-week consultation took place last year, alongside a similar exercise looking at potential Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with the US and New Zealand and joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

A UK-Australia FTA has been called an “early priority” for the UK government after it leaves the EU. Government insiders say it is among the trade deals it wants to get started as soon as it can – second only to the US.

On Thursday, the Department for International Trade released a 74-page summary of the Australian FTA consultation, which had more than 146,000 responses. However, almost all of these (145,900) came from a campaign organised by activist network 38 degrees, which called for the protection of Britain’s National Health Service in future trade agreements.

In response, the government noted “we recognise the strength of feeling on some of the topics raised” and promised to keep the views in mind when developing its negotiating objectives with Australia, which will be published before negotiations begin.

The government has promised it “will not compromise the high quality of British food or agricultural standards in any UK-Australia free trading relationship. We are committed to maintaining high standards on animal welfare and food safety after the UK leaves the EU”.

Responses came from individuals as well as businesses, business groups and public bodies such as trade unions.

The respondents were “positive overall” about the potential for lower tariffs on goods, or their complete removal, the summary said.

“Responses included requests for reductions on specific tariffs, such as for grain, or their removal for products such as raw cane sugar and wine,” it said. “Forty-five business associations raised tariffs as a priority in their comments and welcomed the removal or reduction of tariffs which could greatly benefit particular UK industries, for example, cosmetics, spirits, books, journals and newsprints.

“Representatives of the Scottish salmon sector also indicated support for removal of tariff rate quotas. One respondent highlighted the potential benefits for the automotive sector of removing of Australian automotive tariffs.”

However, there were exceptions.

“A few respondents, notably from the agricultural food sector, stressed the importance of maintaining certain tariffs or reducing them gradually over time to protect UK producers’ and farmers’ livelihoods,” the summary said.

A recurring theme was the increased carbon emissions resulting from increased trade, given the big distance between the two countries, especially if Australian goods replaced British ones.

Another big concern was that an FTA could reduce standards, making UK businesses more vulnerable to unfair competition and Australians “undercutting producers by flooding the market with cheap imports”.

Some “pointed to differences between the UK’s and Australia’s regulatory approach to ‘hormone beef’ and antibiotics” as well as genetically modified organisms and pesticides.

“The rates of food poisoning (notably salmonella) in Australia were also highlighted in a number of NGO responses,” the summary said. “Here, the respondents linked high rates of food poisoning with lower standards of animal welfare.”

Respondents were interested in opportunities that could open up in services, by further mutual recognition of professional qualifications, and provision to help skilled workers move more easily between both countries. Digital and financial services were a particular area for this kind of work.

But again, “concerns focused on ensuring that Australia did not stand to benefit more than the UK” from such provisions, the summary said.

Newspaper groups called for no restriction on distribution of UK newspapers in Australia, and one respondent suggested an FTA could be an opportunity to enable content to be shared between the ABC and the BBC to help counter the use of VPNs and illegal torrenting.

Overall, the summary noted that “many respondents also mentioned the importance of the UK’s future economic relationship with the EU”.

During public consultation events, the document said, businesses were “open about the fact that the future economic partnership with the EU and [Brexit] contingency planning was their main focus”.

“This was consistently seen as the more immediate priority for business.”

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