In March 2019 the UK government published details of the import tariffs it planned to apply in the event of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit from the EU. Some 88 per cent of the UK’s imports — including many agri-food products — would enter tariff-free. This proposed unilateral reduction in border protection promoted few protests from the UK’s farm lobby, in marked contrast to the reaction voiced by EU farmers to the planned trade agreement with Mercosur. Trade diplomats are often loath to contemplate unilateral tariff cuts, as these could later form a crucial part of a bargain in multilateral or bilateral trade deals. Indeed, the UK’s ‘no-deal’ tariff plan could undermine its objective of concluding ambitious Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with the likes of Australia and the USA. Despite these developments in agri-trade policy, UK politicians continued to express concern about the viability of UK agriculture in a ‘no-deal’ scenario, and some promised to lavish tax-payer-funded support on the sector. Thus both free (or freer) trade and agricultural exceptionalism were canvassed cheek by jowl.

中文翻译：

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农业和脱欧 英国的“无交易”关税计划

2019 年 3 月，英国政府公布了计划在“无协议”脱欧的情况下对欧盟征收的进口关税的详细信息。英国大约 88% 的进口产品——包括许多农产品——将免关税。这一提议的单方面减少边境保护措施几乎没有引起英国农场游说团体的抗议，这与欧盟农民对计划中与南方共同市场贸易协定的反应形成鲜明对比。贸易外交官通常不愿考虑单方面削减关税，因为这些削减可能在以后成为多边或双边贸易协议中的重要组成部分。事实上，英国的“无交易”关税计划可能会破坏其与澳大利亚和美国等国签订雄心勃勃的自由贸易协定 (FTA) 的目标。尽管农业贸易政策出现了这些进展，英国政界人士继续对英国农业在“无交易”情况下的生存能力表示担忧，一些人承诺对该行业提供纳税人资助的慷慨支持。因此，自由（或更自由）贸易和农业例外论都被逐一讨论。