British pig sector fears Americans are knocking on the door
Despite a personal interference by president Trump on their behalf, American pork producers have not gained access to the lucrative British market yet. However, the UK National Pig Association fears they will continue knocking on the door.
“It is clear that the US pig industry is very keen to gain access into the UK market, and despite not having had that success in the first part of the deal, that desire is not going away any time soon.’’
Trade deal UK and US
The trade deal between the UK and the US allows for the reciprocal export of 13,000 tonnes of beef as well as a tariff free export of 1.4 billion litres of American ethanol to the British market. ‘’The first thing to stress is that, for the time being, nothing has changed from the perspective of the pig sector. Despite intense lobbying from the US pig sector, and an 11th hour call from the US President to the Prime Minister, the US currently has no pork access into the UK market. Equally, the baseline 10% tariffs on UK products entering the US remains, including for any UK pork being exported to the US,’’ the NPA explains.
Direct intervention
However, the deal states that ‘following a reasonable period of negotiation: the United Kingdom intends to reduce its applied tariff rates on a preferential basis on a range of originating goods of the United States in sectors of importance to the United States. ‘’We should be in no doubt that as part of this ongoing negotiation, US pork constitutes a sector of importance to the United States, especially given the direct intervention from President Trump,’’ the NPA stresses.
Same standards
Therefor, the association warns that American pork should only be allowed into the UK if it is produced under the same standards that British producers have to comply with. “Some practices used in the US have long been illegal in the UK, and so this not only undermines the good work that British producers have done to improve method of production standards at home, but it also undercuts them in price because the US cost of production is in many instances much lower than the UK. We in the UK must continue to make the case for equivalence in standards as part of all our trade agreements, so that we do not undermine British farmers and simply offshore food production to countries with less sustainable systems and lower animal welfare standards.’’
