Farming ‘must not be a bargaining chip’ in US trade talks

The UK farming sector has made it clear to government that it can “shoulder no more pain on behalf of other sectors of the economy”, as trade talks with the US continue.

The NFU said farmers are united in their message that further agricultural concessions would cripple an already hard-pressed farming and growing sector which had already “done its bit” on trade with Washington.

It comes amid concerns that the US will demand even greater access to the UK agricultural market in return for reducing or removing the additional 10 per cent tariffs applied by President Trump earlier this year.

A key concern is that this could include concessions for US agri-food items that have been produced using methods that are illegal here, and fail to meet the UK’s high animal welfare, environmental and food safety standards.

At an extraordinary board meeting convened by the NFU, comprising of elected farmer and grower representatives across food-producing sectors, it was made clear that UK farming can give no more without suffering serious impacts on its own viability.

The board concluded that the deal UK-US agreed in May is the most the agriculture sector can carry.

This deal saw the UK livestock and arable sectors taking the hit in order to reduce significant tariffs on other sectors of the economy such as cars, steel and aluminium. At the time, the NFU said it recognised that this was a necessary burden to bear to protect the wider UK economy, but warned the agricultural sector could not shoulder any more as negotiations continued.

Now, the NFU is calling for a commitment that agriculture will not be used as a bargaining chip in negotiations to reduce the remaining 10 per cent tariffs and is asking the government to be prepared to walk away rather than risk the UK’s domestic food and farming sector.

NFU president Tom Bradshaw said: “It’s understandable that the UK government wants to eliminate the 10 per cent tariffs on all goods going to the US, but we have to ask – what is the cost?

“The US has made it crystal clear that they want greater access to our market for their agricultural produce, and it is not afraid to throw its weight around to get what it wants. But the UK agriculture sector has already done its bit, paying with access to our beef and ethanol markets to reduce tariffs on cars, aluminium and steel. We have nothing more to give.

“It’s worth noting that our government has upheld its side of the deal announced in May, with legislation now in place to allow this additional access for American imports of beef and ethanol. Yet the US is dragging its feet to uphold its side of the bargain with no sign of the promised access to the US beef market.

“No one has been able to agree a deal which removes these 10 per cent tariffs. We cannot continue to barter away critical sectors such as food production in pursuit of tariff reductions which may never materialise and that simply take us back to where we were before ‘Liberation Day’.

“Our government has stood firm so far to protect our most sensitive farming sectors and to safeguard our high-welfare, environmental and food safety standards. It has to continue to do so by taking further agricultural concessions off the negotiating table, or we run the serious risk of crippling our country’s ability to produce its own food and undermining our food production values.

“And if push comes to shove and the US doesn’t accept this, I hope our government would prioritise its own farming sector – the foundation of our nation’s food security – over any further deal with the US, even if it means accepting the 10 per cent tariffs.”