While far from perfect, UK pesticide standards are some of the strongest in the world in terms of protecting human health and the environment, far higher than Australia's. As a result of the UK's relatively high standards, future trade deals with large agricultural producers with weaker pesticide protections (like Australia) present a considerable risk to the health of citizens and the environment in both countries. Trade deals also threaten to undercut UK farming by allowing an influx of imported crops from Australia grown more cheaply on a larger scale and to lower standards.
The UK has already agreed a bilateral trade deal with Australia, in addition to attempting to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) of which Australia is a member. We have yet to see the text of the final deal but if the UK sets a precedent by agreeing to weaker pesticide standards with Australia, then conceding to similar demands from other trading partners will be more likely
The UK Government should be particularly wary given that Australia has previously attempted to use trade negotiations as a way to weaken EU pesticide standards in order to secure access to the EU market for their food exports. For example, in 2017, Australia joined forces with the US to submit a complaint to the WTO against the EU for attempting to regulate endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Examples of ways in which Australian pesticide standards are weaker than UK standards:
• Australia authorises 144 Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs), almost double the amount which are permitted for use in the UK (73). The concept of HHPs originates from the United Nations and is used to identify those pesticides which are most harmful to human health and the environment.While the UK authorises just four organophosphate pesticides.
• Australia authorises 33 organophosphates (OPs) against UK's 4.Organophosate pesticides are known to be particularly toxic to humans, with the impacts of exposure ranging from dizziness and headaches to cardiac problems and death.
