Campaigners say the UK's membership in a Pacific trade agreement will worsen global deforestation, threaten animal welfare, and "make a mockery" of the government's climate goals.

Late last week, ministers approved the UK's entry into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), an association of 11 countries that includes Japan, Canada, Australia, and Mexico.

According to the government, joining the EU would boost the UK's economy by roughly £1.8 billion annually and open up markets for different goods.

Environmental organizations, meanwhile, have voiced worries about the trade agreement's effects when the UK agreed to remove European tariffs on palm oil as a requirement for joining the Pacific deal.

Last week, Kemi Badenoch, the trade secretary, said as quoted by Sky News that “you have to make trade-offs” in signing trade deals and that palm oil was “a great product” and “not some illegal substance."

She added, “There are other crops in the EU that are causing deforestation that fit within EU rules.” 

Environmental and animal welfare organizations were outraged by the comments, and they warned that the agreement would encourage deforestation abroad, particularly in south-east Asia, and could open the door for the importation of cheap, subpar meat produced in ways that would be against the law in the relevant countries.

Malaysian palm oil production is especially concerning because tariffs, which are currently 12%, will be lifted and imports could rise, even from deforested regions.

According to years of research by conservation organizations, palm oil is strongly linked to deforestation, the destruction of habitats for endangered species like the orangutan, and deadly forest fires.

The UK government led a global movement to stop deforestation at the COP26 summit in Glasgow in 2021. Ministers have also introduced new regulations to stop products from deforested regions from being sold in the UK.

The RSPCA claims that animal welfare would also be compromised. Several CPTPP members employ production techniques that are prohibited in the UK, such as sow stalls, battery eggs, antibiotic use, hormone treatment, and the use of pesticides.

According to the organization, there are no specific references to animal welfare requirements in the formal rules of the trading bloc, and it is concerned that UK consumers may unknowingly purchase items made using these techniques.

A spokesperson for the Department of Business and Trade said, as quoted by the Guardian, “The UK is committed to tackling illegal deforestation within our supply chains, and our agreement to join CPTPP does not change that. We will always support the sustainable production of palm oil, and at accession we will publish a joint statement with Malaysia to protect forests. Existing UK tariffs on Malaysian palm oil are already low, and the UK accounted for around 1% of Malaysia’s global palm oil exports last year, with deforestation related to palm oil in Malaysia falling 60% since 2012.”

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