Would a veterinary agreement be a boost for UK-EU agri-food exports?

Drawing on 279 trade agreements worldwide, this piece finds a UK-EU veterinary deal built on mutual recognition could lift UK agri-food exports to the EU by 22.5% within a decade.

Evidence from 279 trade agreements worldwide shows that comprehensive, legally binding commitments on agricultural standards can substantially expand agri-food trade — in the UK-EU case, potentially raising UK agri-food exports to the EU by 22.5% over ten years. Crucially, the analysis shows this doesn’t require the UK to simply adopt EU rules wholesale: mutual recognition of equivalent standards can deliver the gains. The politics of getting there remain hard, but the piece argues a supplementary veterinary agreement sitting alongside the existing TCA is economically well worth pursuing.

Originally published on UK in a Changing Europe, June 17, 2024.

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