6. Statement by the Minister for Economy: Wales and Europe — Managing a new relationship

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:23 pm on 1 February 2022.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 5:23, 1 February 2022

Thank you for the two questions. I think I have outlined before the reality that agriculture has been used as a makeweight in new international trade agreements. And I don't think that's a fringe view; I think it's pretty impossible to look at the deals that have been done and not to come to those conclusions. That's a clear risk for the future of agriculture in every part of the UK, and that was part of the discussion we had at the ministerial forum for trade and I've raised that repeatedly with UK trade Ministers since being appointed to this role. 

We talked earlier in this statement about the reality that the trade at ports in Wales facing the island of Ireland has been directly affected because of the significant increase in traffic that has simply avoided Wales and gone directly to continental Europe. If we want to have a proper future for coastal communities, for agriculture and for all those businesses that do rely on a proper relationship for goods and services with the European Union, then we need clarity from the UK Government about the future of those trading relationships. There needs to be clarity; there needs to be a constructive approach to the trade and co-operation agreement, and that must be focused on getting deals done and not simply on writing articles to stir up different parts of the Conservative Party's base.

It also means that we need to be honest with people. For all of the shouting and the cheering in the Chamber that I've heard, claiming that in our new relationships there is no downside to where we are, in reality, that is not what businesses are finding. We should respect the fact that that's the reality of those businesses and the jobs that they support, and we need to deal with those realities or we will never take advantage of where there are opportunities as well as finding ways through some of the very real challenges that jobs and businesses face. A deal of honesty, which I know is not always something that every political activist places a premium on, particularly in the current times, but a deal of reality and honesty has to be the right way forward, and I think it's a duty on all of us, regardless of what party we're in, to take that approach.