As both UK and US officials said they are working hard to secure a trade deal, British farmers and others have warned politicians not to sacrifice our food standards in the rush to sign an agreement.
According to i, ‘UK trade negotiators are coming under “huge pressure” to weaken Britain’s food and animal welfare standards, sparking fears among farmers that they will be sold out in a bid to secure a US trade deal.
‘As the negotiations come to a head, the US is demanding greater access to the UK’s agriculture industry, with the Government’s plans to dynamically align with EU animal hygiene and welfare standards viewed as a major stumbling block.’
Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has suggested that access could be widened to US producers whose standards are in line with the UK’s own, but farmers worry that controversial food items such as chlorine washed chicken and hormone treated beef could be allowed into the UK.
“There are serious concerns that the US administration is pressuring the UK government to weaken its Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) standards as a concession for lower tariffs or as part of a new trade deal,” said NFU President Tom Bradshaw. “This could lead to imports of products that would be illegal for our farmers to produce domestically.
“The public has shown time and time again that they want the beef, pork and chicken they buy produced responsibly and not using methods that were rightly banned in the UK decades ago.”
The NFU previously stressed that this government has repeatedly promised that it would not repeat the mistakes of past trade deals and that it would safeguard UK farming and its core standards of food safety, animal welfare and environmental protection in any future trade negotiations.
It was only in February when Defra Secretary of State Steve Reed told the NFU Conference, “We will never lower our food standards in trade agreements. British farming deserves a level playing field where you can compete and win and that is what you’ll get. We will use the full range of powers at our disposal to protect our most sensitive sectors.”
