Unlock the Editor’s Digest totally free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favorite tales on this weekly publication.
The US is eyeing a multibillion-dollar slice of Britain’s pork, poultry, rice and seafood sectors, because it appears to be like to broaden its commerce settlement with the UK, Donald Trump’s agriculture secretary mentioned on Tuesday.
Brooke Rollins mentioned these sectors had been “on the entrance of the road” in ongoing negotiations to construct on the trade deal introduced final week, which gave US beef and bioethanol producers expanded entry to the UK market.
The US has touted the deal as a $5bn alternative for American farmers, ranchers and producers. However the preliminary textual content of the settlement solely covers about $950mn of commerce in hormone-free US beef and ethanol.
“Actually pork and poultry are on the entrance of the road, together with rice and seafood,” Rollins mentioned at a press convention in London on Tuesday, when requested about additional merchandise beneath dialogue.
She added: “Meals safety is nationwide safety. The UK, for instance, actually depends on China and Russia on your seafood. America has extraordinary best-in-class seafood. Let’s discuss that.”
The remarks are more likely to stir concern amongst British farmers and meals producers, who’ve already raised alarms about doubtlessly being undercut by cheaper US imports that will not meet UK or EU manufacturing requirements.
The UK has excessive tariffs on many agricultural merchandise together with as much as 72 pence per kilogramme on pork, 107p on poultry, and 18 per cent on shrimp.
“We’re more than pleased to compete on a like-for-like foundation,” mentioned Richard Griffiths, chief government of the British Poultry Council. “But when we enable imports which can be produced to requirements beneath ours, that’s unfair competitors.”
Rollins instructed that some US exporters would alter to fulfill British expectations, in a softening from final week when she mentioned that no business had been “handled extra unfairly than our agriculture business”.
Whereas she defended the security of hormone-treated beef and chlorinated rooster on Tuesday, she mentioned beef producers could also be ready to ditch hormones with a purpose to promote to the UK and careworn that “solely about 5 per cent” of US rooster is now washed with chlorine.
American producers “are continually watching what the markets seem like, and if the markets are calling for a particular sort, or they’ve extra alternative someplace, then I feel that we, doubtlessly, do see some motion available in the market,” she mentioned.
Griffiths countered that amongst US producers “it’s commonplace follow to wash up on the finish” with chemical washes — together with however not restricted to chlorine.
Compared, he mentioned, British poultry farmers have to advertise hygiene all through the entire course of, and might solely use water. That is a lot costlier, he added.
UK ministers have repeatedly insisted that chlorinated rooster and hormone-treated beef would stay unlawful in Britain.
Rollins additionally careworn the reciprocal advantages for UK exporters: “Whereas, the truth is, we’re enthusiastic about getting American beef, ethanol [and] hopefully down the road, rice, seafood, different merchandise are coming into your nation, that is additionally about getting extra of your nation’s merchandise into ours as properly.”
The Division for Enterprise and Commerce didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
This text has been amended to make clear that the feedback had been made by the US agriculture secretary
