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The US is eyeing a multibillion-dollar slice of Britain’s pork, poultry, rice and seafood sectors, because it appears to develop its commerce settlement with the UK, Donald Trump’s agriculture secretary mentioned on Tuesday.
Brooke Rollins mentioned these sectors have been “at the front of the line” in ongoing negotiations to construct on the commerce 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.
“Certainly pork and poultry are at the front of the line, along with rice and seafood,” Rollins mentioned at a press convention in London on Tuesday, when requested about additional merchandise beneath dialogue.
She added: “Food security is national security. The UK, for example, really relies on China and Russia for your seafood. America has extraordinary best-in-class seafood. Let’s talk about 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 won’t 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 are more than happy to compete on a like-for-like basis,” mentioned Richard Griffiths, chief government of the British Poultry Council. “But if we allow imports that are produced to standards beneath ours, that’s unfair competition.”
Rollins steered that some US exporters would regulate to satisfy British expectations, in a softening from final week when she mentioned that no business had been “treated more unfairly than our agriculture industry”.
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 view to promote to the UK and harassed that “only about 5 per cent” of US rooster is now washed with chlorine.
American producers “are constantly watching what the markets look like, and if the markets are calling for a specific type, or they have more opportunity somewhere, then I think that we, potentially, do see some movement in the market,” she mentioned.
Griffiths countered that amongst US producers “it’s standard practice to clean up at the end” 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 may 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 harassed the reciprocal advantages for UK exporters: “While, in fact, we are excited about getting American beef, ethanol [and] hopefully down the line, rice, seafood, other products are coming into your country, this is also about getting more of your country’s products into ours as well.”
The Division for Business and Commerce didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
This text has been amended to make clear that the feedback have been made by the US agriculture secretary
