Sunak says it’s wrong to renegotiate Australian trade deal but is proved hypocritical in viral video

Rishi Sunak has been called out over claims he can’t renegotiate the post-Brexit trade deal with Australia, while at the same time ripping up parts of the Northern Ireland protocol.

Australian deal

Some famous British goods could lose out under the UK trade deal with Australia, a Commons committee has said.

The International Trade Committee Chair criticised “flat-footed” Government negotiating tactics, as cross-party MPs flagged concerns that household-name British products are set to lose out under the first full trade deal to be signed since Brexit.

The Department of International Trade (DIT) hit back at that criticism, accusing the committee of “fundamentally misunderstanding” the trade deal provisions and stressing that protections do indeed exist aside from so-called “geographic indications”.

The deal has been heralded by the Government as the first negotiated from scratch since leaving the EU amid a promise that it would leave the country £2.3 billion better off.

Sunak

Under questioning, he said that it would be wrong to renegotiate the deal as it would rip up international treaties.

However, as Peter Stefanovic points out in his new video, the government is doing the same thing with the Northern Ireland protocol. Why is one different than the other?

It comes as the Northern Ireland Protocol has created a “feast or famine” economy in the region with some businesses struggling while others thrive, a parliamentary report has found.

A House of Lords committee examining the post-Brexit Irish Sea trading arrangements found that companies involved in trade with the rest of the UK were being hampered by added red tape whereas those more reliant on doing business with Ireland and the wider EU were benefiting.

The committee stressed an urgent need to resolve the issues created by the protocol and called on the EU and UK to reengage in negotiations.