The UK gov’s trade & co-operation agreement with the EU has erected significant barriers to trade for Scottish producers and businesses. There is real economic harm being caused with many now extremely worried about the short & long term effects on their businesses & sectors

Many will already be aware of the challenges being faced by Scottish seafood producers. There have been similar challenges in the meat sector where new trade barriers have led to significant reductions in the volume of Scottish beef and lamb exports to Europe.

he Scottish Government and Scottish food and drink stakeholders repeatedly warned the UK Government that businesses needed a grace period to prepare for these fundamental changes – the UK Government continually ignored these warnings.

Behind the headlines, the commentary and the images, we should not forget there are real people, with families, employees and communities all depending on them.

Businesses which took generations to create and to nurture are being brought to their knees practically overnight by a callous Tory Government which seeks to point the finger of blame at anyone and everything instead of owning responsibility for the chaos.

Scot Gov & our partner agencies continue to do all we can to help businesses prepare for this wholesale change. Scottish export hubs were properly resourced at the end of the transition period & Food Standards Scot has delivered all of the Export Health Certificates to businesses

There is a whole new category of goods being impacted by Brexit – these are now known as prohibited and restricted goods. They previously traded freely with the EU.

This means that Scotland and Great Britain can now no longer export a wide range of produce to the EU.

At the last minute the UK Government secured a derogation for some of the chilled meats mentioned for big retailers – but only for 6 months and there is no certainty about what will happen beyond then.

Last week UK supermarket chiefs warned that further disruption was inevitable if border requirements from April were not simplified or the grace period for EHCs extended.

the UK Government blithely dismisses all these impacts as “teething problems”, hoping that no one realises that these are permanent changes, creating permanent extra costs and burdens on our businesses, threatening jobs and livelihoods.

They promised to at least match EU funding. As matters stand, Scotland is set to lose-out on £170.1 million of equivalent CAP funding through to 2025 that rightly should be spent on our producers and rural communities

We have a right to expect £62 million for marine/fisheries funding, instead of the paltry £14m promised.
We have a right to expect our share of the £100m promised to sweeten the awful deal for fisheries to come to Scotland for us to determine our investment priorities and needs

The Tories at Westminster will increasingly side-line our interests, we are being made small and isolated from our closest and most important overseas trading partners and all the gains made in twenty one years of devolution for our rural and coastal communities will be reversed.