Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who last week signed the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA), has written to the Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC) seeking its advice on the application of some measures.

The letter, addressed to Professor Lorand Bartels – chair of the TAC - has been published on Gov.uk. In it, Trevelyan said:

"I am writing to request the TAC’s advice on the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA), in line with the provisions of section 42 of the Agriculture Act 2020 (“S.42”).

"I am writing to request your advice on whether, or to what extent, the measures in the UK-Australia FTA....that are applicable to trade in agricultural products are consistent with the maintenance of UK levels of statutory protection in relation to:

Trevlyan requests that this advice be published in a chapter-by-chapter format and be submitted electronically by March 31, 2022. It is anticipated the advice will be laid out before Parliament.

In producing the report, Trevelyan said she envisages the TAC would:

The TAC should also, she said: