George Justice, who was environment secretary under Boris Johnson but was sacked by Ms Truss when she became prime minister, claimed the deal was not good for the UK and blamed her. His stunning attack on Ms Truss, who was international trade secretary from 2019-2021, came in a devastating backbench speech during a Commons debate. He began his attack by telling MPs there were “deep arguments and differences in the cabinet” over how the government should approach the trade deal, which was agreed last year. “But as I now enjoy the freedom of the backbenches, I no longer need to put such a positive gloss on what was agreed,” said Mr Eustice, who, unlike Ms Truss, was a Brexiteer. And he said: “Unless we recognize the failures that the Department for International Trade made during the negotiations in Australia, we will not be able to learn the lessons for future negotiations. “The first step is to recognize that Australia’s trade deal is actually not a very good deal for the UK, which has not been done for lack of trying on my part.” His speech also included a scathing attack on the trade department’s most senior civil servant, temporary permanent secretary Crawford Falconer, who he claimed Mr Eustice “wasn’t fit for the job”. The trade deal with Australia and New Zealand was hailed by Mr Johnson when he announced it as a “new dawn” that would see British cars, Scotch whisky, biscuits and ceramics sold more easily. “The UK has given too much for too little in return” But at the same time, it was criticized by the National Farmers Union as bad for British beef and lamb farmers. And a cross-party group of MPs claimed it was a “politically expedient deal”. Speaking in the Commons, Mr Eustice – who comes from a farming family – told MPs: “Overall, the truth of the matter is that the UK has given too much for too little in return. “We didn’t really need to give Australia or New Zealand full beef freedom. It wasn’t in our economic interests to do that. And neither Australia nor New Zealand had anything to offer in return for such a big concession. “The UK came into this negotiation holding the strongest hand, the best cards, but sometime in the early summer of 2021, the then trade secretary decided to set an arbitrary target to be completed by the G7. From that moment we were on the back foot. “At one point the then trade minister asked her Australian rival what it would take to do a deal with the G7 and of course then presented his terms which ultimately shaped the deal. We must never repeat that mistake.” Mr Eustice concluded his speech with a surprisingly wide-ranging take on Mr Falconer, in which – speaking with the benefit of parliamentary privilege – he said: “I have always been a great admirer of the British public service. Image: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Boris Johnson meet ahead of deal announcement in 2021 “He is not fit for position” “But I want to make a comment about the staff of the Department of International Trade. Crawford Falconer, currently interim permanent secretary, is not suitable for this position, in my experience. “His approach was always to internalize Australia’s demands, often when they were against UK interests, and his advice was always to back down and make new concessions. “All this time, he resented people who had a greater understanding of technical matters than he did. It was perhaps somewhat surprising when he arrived from New Zealand that there were probably several hundred civil servants in the UK civil service who understood business better than he did, and he had not been good, over the years, at listening to them. “He has now done this job for a number of years and it would be a good opportunity for him to move on and for us to get a different type of negotiator – someone who understands British interests better than he could.” At the end of the debate, newly appointed Trade Secretary Andrew Bowie replied to Mr Eustice: “I’m afraid I have to disagree and defend officials from the Department for International Trade who, without exception, are committed to improving the trade relationship for this country and everyone , without exception, have this country’s best interests at heart and work day and night for this country. “I should also point out that beef and lamb suppliers from Australia and New Zealand are already working hard to meet demand from growing Asia Pacific markets on their doorstep and New Zealand already has a significant volume of incomplete access for lamb to the UK market. , but used less than half of that quota in 2020.” Nick Thomas-Symonds, Labour’s Shadow International Trade Secretary, commenting on George Eustice’s attack on the UK/Australia trade deal, said: “It is clear that the Conservative Government’s trade policy is in utter disarray. Even George Eustice, a Cabinet member when the Australia Trade Deal was being negotiated, has now agreed that “the UK gave too much for too little in return”. “He is right to condemn this government’s approach. On trade, the Conservatives have no strategy and are – badly – letting the UK down, which will cost jobs, investment and growth. We can’t take this government any longer and we need a general election now.”
