Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price has said that granting Australian farmers tariff-free access to the UK Market would be "the ultimate proof of Westminster’s “zero loyalty” to Wales."
Responding to an article by the Financial Times, Price said: "This deal and the ones that would follow would wipe out Welsh agriculture. Wales must urgently unite in its opposition to this economic vandalism."
According to the Financial Times, the UK government is locked in a "ferocious" internal battle over whether to sign off on a trade deal with Australia, after a split has emerged between the Department of Agriculture and the Department of International Trade over the terms of the agreement.
It is understood that UK government is eager to finalise the deal by June prior to the G7 summit in Cornwall, which will be attended by Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
According to the Financial Times, the deal would risk "inflaming" arguments over Welsh and Scottish independence due to the likely damage such a deal would wreak on the agricultural sector in both countries.
Responding to the reports, the Welsh Government said that any deal with Australia “must not disadvantage Welsh farmers."