Commenting on the news that Welsh lamb has been exported to the US for the first time in 20 years, Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS said:
“While we will of course always welcome more export opportunities for our fantastic Welsh produce, Liz Truss and the Conservatives are trying to plaster over the cracks regarding the damage they have already done to the Welsh farming sector.
“That is that they sold out Welsh farmers for cheap trade deals with Australia and New Zealand for nothing in return. This was spearheaded by Liz Truss despite Australian commentators even being in disbelief about how lopsided the deals were.
“Tariff free access by New Zealand in particular poses a direct threat to the survival of the Welsh lamb industry and the communities it supports, including Welsh language communities.
“If Liz Truss was supportive of such poor trade deals already, it does beg the question how much more damage she could do to the sector as the UK seeks revised trading arrangements with the likes of the US, Argentina and Brazil.
“This is of course on top of extra red tape and costs already burdened on our farmers as a result of the Conservatives flawed Brexit deal.
“The Conservatives must stop taking rural communities and farmers for granted and fix the flaws in their agricultural and rural policies and ensure future trade deals don’t sell our farmers down the river yet again.”
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