Truss’s naivety on trade with Australia could leave the UK exposed

If the trade secretary agrees to Canberra's demands for no tariffs on agriculture, it sets a dangerous precedent for other, bigger deals

Farming is the tail that wags the dog in all trade talks. Agriculture might be worth less than 1% of GDP in the UK and Germany and less than 2% in France and Italy, yet the emotional connection with food makes it a critical subject when negotiators sit down to hammer out a deal.

According to the latest World Bank data, the sector contributed only 3.3% to global GDP - and in Australia, which is in controversial and secretive talks with the UK about a free trade agreement (FTA), it made up just 2.1% of GDP in 2018. But Dan Tehan, Australia's trade minister, has placed agriculture front and centre by insisting that any deal with the UK must be covered by tariff-free and quota-free arrangements.

A deal with Australia is not significant in itself: Truss admits it would boost Britain's economy by just 500m over 15 years, or 0.02% of GDP

Truss argues that the UK has a tariff-free deal with the EU and this should be the template. But the UK stands on a level playing field with other EU countries after four decades of convergence