Farmers warn safeguards must remain in place to protect Welsh farmers from US trade deal

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has warned safeguards must continue to be in place to protect Welsh farmers from being undermined by imports produced to lower food production standards, following the announcement of the trade deal between the UK and US.

As part of the agreement, confirmed on Thursday, the US has gained broader access to the UK agricultural market, including a tariff-free quota for 13,000 tonnes of US beef and a tariff-free quota for ethanol.

The US anticipates a $5 billion increase in agricultural exports to the UK.

The UK Government has however stated that there will be no lowering of domestic food standards as part of the deal, and imports of hormone-treated beef and chlorinated chicken will remain illegal.

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Beef Access

The deal also provides reciprocal Beef Access for UK farmers - including a tariff-free quota of 13,000 metric tonnes for UK beef exports to the US, providing a potential new market for British farmers.

As transatlantic negotiations took place over recent weeks, the FUW has intensely lobbied the UK Government to ensure Welsh agricultural interests "are not sold down the river" in pursuit of any short-term trade deal, particularly in competing with sub-standard imports from across the Atlantic.

Whilst the agreement enshrines imported food and agricultural goods must comply with the importing country's sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards, the FUW has highlighted the divergence between food safety standards, and food production standards.

Food produced to different standards could undermine Welsh farmers, as has already been the case in previous trade deals.

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Collateral damage

FUW President, Ian Rickman said: “The Farmers’ Union of Wales has repeatedly stressed over recent weeks that Welsh agriculture must not become collateral damage in the UK Government's pursuit of short-term trade concessions with the US, by forcing farmers into an unfair competition with cheaper, sub-standard US imports.

"We therefore recognise the UK Government's assurance that this agreement will not compromise food, environmental or animal welfare standards.

"While reciprocal beef access presents distinct opportunities for farmers, an influx of US beef imports could however disrupt our domestic market and undermine Welsh farmers already grappling with unprecedented uncertainty.

"Comprehensive and unambiguous country-of-origin labelling is therefore vital to ensure the UK public can make fully informed purchasing decisions. Furthermore, meticulous scrutiny and policing of imports must be non-negotiable. Any deviation in standards would constitute a betrayal of Welsh farmers, our food sector, as well as potentially undermining any future trading relationship with the EU.

"Over recent years, Welsh farmers have too often borne the brunt of trade deals forged with countries that prioritise different food production standards. These have undermined UK food production, whilst delivering little return in regard to new markets or tangible opportunities.

"As the dust settles over the coming weeks, we will continue to keep a close eye on developments.”

'Nervous'

Neil Shand, chief executive of the National Beef Association, said the industry “remains very nervous” about the current Government’s policies.

Asked what the UK would gain from the deal, he told Times Radio: “We have access to the US market. We had limited access – there’s a carryover of a WTO (World Trade Organisation) deal that the US had, that existed from pre-Brexit times, and we were allowed to send small amounts of beef to the US, but this will allow our market to grow as well.

“In volume terms, there is an argument that they have a bigger access or a larger quantity into our market. But in the overall scheme of things, 13,000 tonnes is not a huge amount of beef, if you consider last year we imported 241,000 tonnes.

“We’re not self-sufficient, and it is important that we are able to provide beef eating consumers with a product.”

Mr Shand said it was likely the US-imported beef would be used in the services industry instead of being sold on supermarket shelves, as leading retailers “are not going to break rank” on British beef agreements.