AIC at 20: Keeping trade moving after the UK-EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement was signed
As AIC marks 20 years as the UK agri-supply industry’s leading trade association, we're looking back at some of its greatest achievements since it was founded in 2003.
Each week throughout 2023, we’ll explore a major achievement where AIC represented its Member businesses, promoted the benefits of modern commercial agriculture in the UK, and supported collaboration throughout the food chain.
This week we review how AIC worked to keep trade moving by helping Members assess and understand the implications of new trading relations between the UK and European Union (EU), with an agreement signed by the UK Government and the European Commission just days before it was implemented.
Tight deadline
The signing of the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) on 30 December 2020 left AIC with just 48 hours to deal with the repurcussions and interpret how the new trading relationship would work in practice for its Members.
All Members who trade with the EU – both for imports and exports – faced acute challenges as a result of these abrupt changes agreed by betweent the UK Government and European Commission.
With a matter of days to examine the final legal text and assess the meaning for Member businesses, the team of experts at AIC rose to that exceptional challenge.
AIC acted swiftly to successfully lobby the Government on behalf of entire industry sectors on certain key issues, such as seed equivalence, and on an individual basis for Members in other cases to help maintain vital trade.
Resolving concerns
Despite the time pressure, AIC was successful in resolving many Member issues as they arose and expedited those concerns to the relevant parties in Government.
It has continued to lobby MPs and Peers across all parties across the UK to outline the problems faced by Members in the months and years since the new trading relationship came into being.
AIC has also facilitated direct access between Members and Government trade teams, allowing Member voices to be heard and enabling those trade teams to share ongoing opportunities and ways to overcome obstacles.
The work of AIC encompasses three guiding pillars - Productivity, Environment and Competitiveness - delivering for sustainability and contributing to the circular economy. Find out more here.
Learn more about the Grain and Oilseeds sector by watching the video below.
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Visit the AIC at 20 webpage for more content like this.
Authors
Oli Hill
As Head of Communications, Oli creates and oversees the content published on AIC's website, emails, Member briefings, print publications, and social media. A qualified multimedia journalist, he previously spent six years working at Farmers Weekly magazine as a Senior Reporter on the arable team, and latterly as Community Editor. More recently he was Communications Manager at Red Tractor.
Ed Barker
Rose Riby
Rose Riby is Head of Combinable Crops and Seed. Having worked across these sectors for many years, she has a depth and breadth of experience in roles in grain trading, plant breeding and knowledge exchange at AHDB.
