How Scottish businesses are crying out for better trade deal with EU
Scottish industry sees the potential in a more collaborative UK-EU relationship. It’s time to do better than the Conservatives’ Brexit deal and put Britain back on the world stage, writes EU relations minister Nick Thomas–Symonds
This week, I visited Edinburgh to meet with political representatives, businesses and charities. I was there to listen and continue our discussions about what Scotland wants from an improved relationship with the EU. And that means reducing barriers to trade with our largest trading partner, driving economic growth and keeping us safe in an increasingly uncertain world.
In the shadow of VE Day, we know close alignment on security and defence is in the interests of both the UK and the EU.
Nobody thinks the current Tory deal is working, which is why we have put in the hard yards to get to this stage.
Seed potato ban
From salmon to seed potatoes, some of our most iconic and highest-quality agricultural products are grown in Scotland. But a message I heard repeatedly from Scottish industry is that selling produce to the EU is needlessly difficult.
Scottish seed potatoes were once recognised by the EU as being of the highest quality, but since 2021, farmers have been banned from selling them in Europe. Scottish salmon is the UK’s biggest food export, but despite booming sales in Asia and the US, increased red tape led to a £75 million drop in exports to the EU from 2019 to 2023.
Optimism among the Scotch whisky producers I met following last week’s UK-India free trade deal is growing fast, and we must build on this momentum. We’re determined to bring down unnecessary barriers to trade, cutting red tape and boosting this vital sector of the Scottish economy.
Europe recognises that Scotland is also a renewable energy powerhouse and a trailblazer of sustainable solutions. We can use this to unlock new investment opportunities, fuel innovation in the UK’s energy sector, and ultimately help lower bills at home.
Closer cooperation not only benefits the Scottish economy, it also contributes to our shared European goals of tackling climate change and protecting energy security.
No return to customs union
Like any negotiation with our international partners, we will only ever act in the national interest, ensuring, first and foremost, that we meet the needs of the British people and businesses. As a Welsh MP, it’s profoundly important to me that the benefits of a stronger relationship with the EU are felt across the UK.
We are not interested in going back into the customs union, rejoining the single market or reintroducing freedom of movement, which have always been our red lines. But the deal the Tories left behind is not working. That’s why we are determined to build a more durable and beneficial relationship with the EU.
Other political parties will want to rehash arguments from a decade ago. They will complain whatever we do. But they won’t offer up any alternative as to what they would do differently – happy to stick to the status quo, determined to stop change.
This is not about ideology or turning to the division of the past, but about ruthless pragmatism and what works in the national interest – delivering on our Plan for Change to put more money back in the pockets of working people, drive growth and bolster security.
That means working with our allies in the EU to make people across the continent safe, secure, and prosperous, and ensuring that Scotland is at the heart of that renewed partnership.
Nick Thomas–Symonds is minister for European Union relations
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