Scottish seafood exports at risk from planned Tory breach of Brexit trade deal

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The Scottish farmed salmon industry has warned Boris Johnson to “step back” from a trade war with Europe over the Northern Ireland protocol.Industry body Salmon Scotland said 2,500 jobs in one on Scotland’s major export industries could be at risk if the UK government legislates to change Northern Ireland trade arrangements without agreement from the EU.

They have written to the Prime Minister to raise concerns about a potential “trade war” with Europe following a Commons statement from Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.

The move came as the EU promised to respond “with all measures at its disposal” to the UK plan to ignore parts of the protocol.That could mean trade measures, including tariffs on £372 million worth of salmon exports.Liz Truss upped the stakes in the border stand-off by promising to introduce Commons legislation “in the coming weeks” to change the protocol.

Salmon Scotland fears changes to the Northern Ireland protocol could “undo” the hard work of the sector to drive up the UK’s biggest fresh food exports to the EU.Chief Executive Tavish Scott wrote in a letter to Boris Johnson: “Any deterioration in relationships between London and Brussels which leads to friction at the border, delays and queues for hauliers crossing to France or extra costs for our exporters could put us back to where we were at the start of last year when exports were in chaos”.The EU accounts for 61 per cent of global Scottish salmon exports and as well as employing 2,500 people directly it supports another 10,000 jobs across the country. To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here.