US industry ready to drop demand to export chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef in a move set to anger British farmers.
The United States is expected to push Britain to allow tariff-free access to high-quality American meat as part of any trade deal signed under the incoming Trump administration, amid interest from the president-elect’s trade chief.
Previous attempts to forge an agreement with the US have failed. Demands to allow the import of chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef, produced in the US but illegal in the UK, have proved too unpalatable for British ministers.
However, leading trade and industry figures in the US now say that stumbling block could be removed by only allowing meat produced to existing UK standards to enter the country without tariffs. They say the market for such meat has flourished in the US since the issue of a post-Brexit trade deal was first raised.
British ministers have only ruled out any future deal that would undermine British food standards. Michael Froman, the US trade representative under Barack Obama from 2013 to 2017, said the incoming administration was likely to concentrate on China and tariffs. However, in terms of a UK deal, he said “much has changed since the old days of battles over chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef”.
“The US now has sizeable markets for hormone and chemical-free poultry and beef, and it is at least possible there could be a compromise on certain longstanding issues,” he said. “If the UK is serious about negotiating an FTA with the US, though, it should make sure it has the political support to make hard decisions on market access, rules and standards.”
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, has signalled that she will seek to maintain as much free trade as possible with the US after the arrival of Trump. She is also under pressure to deliver promised economic growth. British farmers have already attempted to warn the government. Tom Bradshaw, the president of the National Farmers’ Union, told the Observer that he was “closely monitoring the political changes in the US”.
“Restarting trade talks simply to avoid president-elect Trump’s potential tariffs does not strike me as the right foundation for a balanced trade agreement,” he said. “If negotiations do proceed, it is vital that any agreement upholds the high standards we set in the UK, ensuring that products which would be illegal to produce here do not gain access to our market.”
Rawr
Article URL : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/dec/14/us-meat-trump-uk-trade-deal-chlorinated-chicken-hormone-beef