A proposal to strengthen the role that farmer representatives have in the process of approving new trade deals is set to be rejected by the UK government.

An amendment to the Agriculture Bill was passed in the House of Lords last month which aims to add weight to the newly established Trade and Agriculture Commission. That new body includes within its membership representatives of all four farming unions, including UFU president Victor Chestnutt and NFUS president Andrew McCornick.

We are unlikely to accept amendments to the bill, but I am sure this will be a debate that will run

The proposal would see the commission produce reports on the impact that new trade agreements have on local farmers, ahead of MPs voting to ratify each new trade deal.

For the amendment to become law, it needs to pass a vote in the House of Commons on Monday.

However, senior government minister George Eustice poured cold water on the proposals at the Conservative Party conference this week.

“We are unlikely to accept amendments to the bill, but I am sure this will be a debate that will run,” the Defra Secretary said.

The scrutiny of post-Brexit trade deals has become a major focus for UK farming unions as concerns remain that the government could allow cheap food imports to be part of new agreements.

We do have a robust scrutiny process

Also speaking at the Conservative Party conference, International Trade Secretary Liz Truss maintained that the existing process for MPs to examine trade deals is adequate.

“The mechanism is there to prevent a trade deal from being implemented indefinitely. We do have a robust scrutiny process,” she said.

However, National Farmers’ Union (NFU) president Minette Batters has argued that relying on a select committee of MPs to scrutinise new trade deals is not enough.

“Select committees produce hundreds of reports on government policy every year and, by and large, they are totally ignored,” she suggested.

Many people say it hasn’t got teeth, but those teeth can come

Batters described the existing approval process for trade deals as “outdated” and argued that new structures should be in place to strengthen the role of the Trade and Agriculture Commission.

At present, the commission’s recommendations are advisory only and the body is set to have a short lifespan of just six months.

“Many people say it hasn’t got teeth, but those teeth can come. It was important that it was set up and put in place,” Batters said.