The United Kingdom will not be able to source alternatives to Irish beef and dairy overnight European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan has said.

Commissioner Hogan said it was important not to have a panicked reaction to the UK's revealing of its no-deal tariff plan last week. While 87% of products would enter the UK tariff free, Irish beef and cheese would be disproportionately affected.

At a media briefing in Brussels, the Commissioner said it was unlikely that UK consumers would change their preferences overnight and were unlikely to accept lower food standards.

He said the UK announcement had been made with little thought, to deflect attention from chaos in the House of Commons. The Commissioner described Brexit as "the most amateurish project ever".

Supports

To reassure farmers, Hogan said the EU had considerable experience in dealing with threats to farmers, citing BSE, foot and mouth disease and the Russian embargo.

The supports available to farmers will be dependent on the outcome of Brexit, he said.

Ending the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Brexit is the priority for the European Commission as a whole, Hogan said. He added that EU member states want certainty given the energy that had been expended to date.

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