UK backs up its poultry standards in new trade agreements
The latest report launched by the US Trade Representative says the US is concerned with a number of measures the EU maintains for the purposes of food safety and protecting human, animal, or plant life or health. US officials fear that these measures will "unnecessarily restrict trade without furthering their safety objectives". The report states that the EU measures are not based on scientific principles, maintained with sufficient scientific evidence, or applied only to the extent necessary.
The report further says that in some cases the EU authorities should recognize the current US food safety measures as equivalent to those imposed in the EU as they reflect the same level of protection and this could facilitate trade between the two counterparts.
As a response to the report, the British Poultry Council says that this offer from the US to trade products that do not meet British food production standards "is insulting".
"British farmers have worked incredibly hard to build a food system that speaks to the public good, that enhances British food values and that ensures high standards of production from farm to fork," British Poultry Council, Chief Executive, Richard Griffiths said.
"We know that British consumers are unwilling to accept lower standards as part of a trade deal with the US. One of the recent polls commissioned by the Institute for Public Policy Research highlights that Britons are willing to cancel a post-Brexit deal with the US in order to protect UK’s animal welfare and food safety standards," Mr. Griffiths added.
The British Poultry Council said in a statement that it will carry on working with the Government towards opening new markets for trade by stressing the vital importance of quality. The Council concluded that it is not willing to compete to a race to the bottom and will not compromise on the country's animal welfare and food safety standards in pursuit of new trade deals.
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