Truss issued joint warning over Aussie trade deal by Scottish and NI ministers THE UK’S trade deal with Australia sets a “damaging precedent” for the future, Scotland and Northern Ireland’s agriculture ministers have warned. Mairi Gougeon MSP and Edwin Poots MLA have written a joint letter to the UK Government’s international trade secretary demanding assurances that the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will not have a detrimental effect on domestic farmers. Despite assurance from Liz Truss that the farming sector would be “protected” by caps on imports of beef and lamb from Australia for 15 years, the levels that will be allowed in to the UK tariff-free remain much higher than what is currently imported.