British farming Ex-food tsar warns against low standards in trade deal

Britain's rural communities could be "destroyed", the former government food tsar has said, if ministers sign a US trade deal that undercuts British farming standards.

- Helena Horton

Ministers are working on a new deal with the US, after previous attempts, post-Brexit, stalled. Unpopular agreements signed at the time with Australia and New Zealand featured tariff-free access to beef and lamb, and were accused of undercutting UK farmers, who are governed by higher welfare standards than their counterparts. Australia, in a trade deal signed by Liz Truss in 2021 which came into effect in 2023, was given bespoke Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) standards aimed to not be more "trade-restrictive than necessary to protect human life and health".

But the tariffs recently imposed by US president Donald Trump, combined with a push from the UK government for growth, have caused ministers to redouble efforts to expedite a deal which is expected, say some sources, within weeks.

The UK is currently subject to the blanket 10% tariff Trump imposed on the world, and of 25% on aluminium, steel and cars. There are fears that the new US deal being drawn up will give the US access to the UK agriculture market, and lead to a similar situation. The US side is pressuring the UK to weaken SPS standards and give tariff-free access to some meat products.