The Farmers Mart Aug/Sep 2016 - Issue 47 | Page 13

Farm News

IMTA plans
post-Brexit
strategy

The International Meat Trade
Association (IMTA) has set out a postBrexit strategy to help its members
navigate Great Britain exiting the EU.
» AT ITS FIRST MEETING
since the referendum, IMTA
pledged to find out what the
exit will mean for members,
engage with government
more on the issue and help
identify the challenges and
opportunities of leaving the
EU.
IMTA is also working on its
submission to Oliver Letwin’s
Parliamentary Inquiry into
“the implications of leaving
the EU for the UK’s role in the
world”, which will form the
basis for discussions across
government.

‘An area that
is particularly
unclear for us at
the moment is
what schedule
of tariffs will
be in place for
imports to the
UK post-Brexit’
It hopes the inquiry will
answer questions regarding
tariffs, the EU health mark,
Export Health Certificates and
customs regulations.
The group’s submission
will focus on the need for
imported meat, as well
as continued access to
export markets for UK meat.

Currently, around 45% of
meat and meat products are
imported and 24% of British
meat is exported.
IMTA director Liz Murphy
said: “We recognise that
she [Prime Minister Theresa
May] will have a whole raft
of issues to consider in
relation to the trigger of
Article 50, including the
UK’s withdrawal process
from the EU, its future
relationship with the EU and
the UK’s membership of the
World Trade Organization.
However, food