Crucially, however, any imported meat must comply with U.K. food standards, meaning British farmers can breathe a sigh of relief that hormone-treated beef won’t be darkening their doors anytime soon. Food standards have been a hot potato since U.K.-U.S. negotiations on a free trade agreement kicked off under the first Trump administration in May 2020.
In a surprise move, the U.S. was also granted a new tariff-free quota for ethanol, applying to the first 1.4 billion liters. Previously, U.S. ethanol imported to the U.K. was subject to a tariff of between 10 and 50 percent depending on its use.
Speaking at the White House press conference, Trump said the deal would “dramatically” increase access for American beef, ethanol and “virtually all the products produced by our great farmers.”
According to White House documents, the deal will create a “$5 billion opportunity for new exports for U.S. farmers, ranchers, and producers,” including more than $700 million in ethanol exports and $250 million in other agricultural products, like beef.
“Our biggest concern is that two agricultural sectors have been singled out to shoulder the heavy burden of the removal of tariffs for other industries in the economy,” said National Farmers’ Union President Tom Bradshaw, adding U.K. agriculture “cannot continue to shoulder such imbalances in future negotiations.”
He added that the inclusion of bioethanol in the deal “raises concerns for British arable farmers. We are working through what this means for the viability of the domestic bioethanol production and therefore the potential impact on our members.”