Egg industry and welfare groups delighted as tariff lobbying pays off

The British Egg Industry Council, in partnership with Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), has welcomed the Government’s decision to maintain the current tariff levels on imported eggs and egg products.

The coalition had feared that the UK’s Global Tariff Policy (UKGTP) would allow the import of eggs and egg products produced to lower standards of animal welfare, potentially destroying British egg farming, but was delighted that, following a sustained lobbying programme, this will not be the case. 

The next stage is ensuring that this is not watered down in the bilateral trade agreements with the USA and other countries.

Speaking on behalf of the coalition of BEIC, CIWF and RSPCA, Mark Williams, said: “This is excellent news and is what we have collectively lobbied extremely hard for. The UK egg industry, but more importantly British consumers, will continue to be protected by import tariffs on all our tariff lines.

“The new UKGTP has shown that the Government has listened to all our arguments, which we supported with strong economic evidence, of the likely consequences for our industry if they did not retain import tariffs. We are delighted that they concluded that the UK egg industry should continue to be protected against imports produced to lower standards.

“We will not be complacent however, and will be keeping a close eye on the Trade Bill that is currently working its way through Parliament, along with the bilateral trade negotiations with countries such as the USA, to ensure these tariffs are not removed or reduced.”