Further US trade concessions will ‘cripple’ UK farming – NFU

UK farming can not be expected to carry any further burden as a result of unfavourable trade deals with the US, according to the NFU.

Any further agricultural concessions, it said, would cripple an already hard-pressed farming and growing sector which had “done its bit” on trade with Washington.

It comes amid concerns that the US will demand even greater access to the UK agricultural market in return for reducing or removing the additional 10% tariffs, which apply from Wednesday 9 July.

See also: US trade deal begins as UK biofuels site faces closure

To avoid the tariff, the industry is concerned that the UK government will make concessions for US agri-food items that have been produced using methods that are illegal here, and fail to meet the UK’s high animal welfare, environmental and food safety standards.

The current deal saw the UK livestock and arable sectors taking the hit in order to reduce significant tariffs on other sectors of the economy such as cars, steel and aluminium.

The NFU now wants to see a commitment from the UK government that agriculture will not be used as a bargaining chip to reduce the remaining 10% tariffs.

NFU president Tom Bradshaw said: “Our government has stood firm so far to protect our most sensitive farming sectors and to safeguard our high welfare, environmental and food safety standards.

“It has to continue to do so by taking further agricultural concessions off the negotiating table.”

Country Land and Business Association (CLA) president Victoria Vyvyan added that British farmers need support “not trade deals that put livelihoods on the table”.

In response, a spokesperson for the UK government said it had so far delivered a deal which will open up exclusive access for UK beef farmers to the US market for the first time ever and all agricultural imports will have to meet high sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards.

“We regularly speak to businesses across the UK to understand the impact of tariffs and will only ever act in the national interest,” the spokesperson added.

US imports

Tariff-free access for US imports came into force on 30 June, which includes access to the UK beef market for 13,000t of hormone-free beef (TRQ), and a tariff reduction on the existing 1,000t beef quota from 20% to 0%.

The US was also granted new tariff-free access for 1.4 billion litres of US ethanol, putting the UK’s bioethanol industry and associated sectors under pressure.