A recent report by Unearthed, the investigative unit of Greenpeace, has found that ten substances that are banned in the EU due to their damaging effects on human health and the environment continue to be used on crops across Great Britain.

Dynamic alignment on pesticide standards is set to be a key aspect of the SPS agreement between the UK and EU that is currently under negotiation as part of the wider UK-EU Reset. This agreement could include a relatively quick UK ban – potentially as soon as 2027 – on these currently permitted substances, in order to bring the UK into alignment with EU rules.

However, a recent report by lobbying group CropLife UK, which represents agrochemical companies, has questioned this potential alignment through its warning that such a move would cost the UK farming industry millions. In a recent IEEP UK webinar, Pesticide Action Network UK’s Head of Policy and Campaigns, Josie Cohen, contested many of the CropLife report’s findings, instead highlighting the economic opportunities that such an agreement would bring for Great Britain, as well as the wins for human health and the environment.

IEEP UK analysis suggests that any pushback from the UK on alignment on pesticides would be at odds with the Common Understanding document agreed at the Reset Summit last May, and could put the SPS deal at risk. Ben Reynolds, Executive Director of IEEP UK, commented:

“The Government was clear around its priorities for a deal with the EU that would ease trade barriers for agri-food products, and benefit the majority of UK farmers and consumers. A headline was its intention to dynamically align on pesticides, whilst trying to seek carve outs on precision breeding (genetic technology) where the UK has diverged from the EU. It may also seek exceptions for higher UK standards, such as animal welfare, where there is a precedent in a similar Swiss / EU deal.”

“Any suggestion that the UK would row back on its main commitment for alignment (on pesticides) would mark a huge blow to the likelihood of striking this deal, let alone getting exemptions on other elements of it.”

Unearthed’s findings received further coverage in The Times, which can be found here (paywalled).

Photo by Nao Takabayashi on Unsplash