To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs pursuant to AQW 19641/17-22, for his assessment of how the new UK-Australia trade deal will impact Northern Ireland (i) generally; and; (ii) in regards to Northern Ireland’s dual market access to the UK and EU single market for goods.

The agreement in principle reached between the UK and Australia on 15 June 2021 is in line with previous expectations and therefore my assessment on the impact on Northern Ireland agriculture as set out in AQW19641/17-22 is unchanged. I remain concerned about the impact on the beef and sheep sectors in particular and will continue to express these concerns to the UK Government.

I do not believe that there will be any impact on the ability of NI goods to access the UK or EU markets. However, sales of beef and other products from Northern Ireland going to the GB market will face more competition from Australian imports as a result of this agreement.