UK-Canada trade talks in stalemate amid hormone-treated beef and cheese disputes

29 Jan 2024 --- In a setback to post-Brexit trade aspirations, the UK and Canada have reached an impasse in their trade negotiations. The talks, which have been ongoing for nearly two years, have been suspended following disputes over beef and cheese.

Downing Street has stated its commitment to negotiating deals that benefit British consumers, emphasizing the right to pause negotiations where progress stalls. However, the spokesperson also says: “We’re open to restarting talks with Canada in the future.”

The dispute over meat products centers around Canada’s request for the UK to ease its ban on hormone-treated beef. Canadian beef producers argue that this is crucial for them to effectively enter the British market.

As for cheese, the UK is worried about the 245% import taxes that Canada has imposed on British cheese items since the beginning of the year. This move puts the competitiveness of UK products at risk in the Canadian market.

Currently, trade between the UK and Canada operates under the terms from the UK’s time as an EU member. This arrangement facilitated ongoing trade in products such as cheese without imposing high import taxes. However, with the breakdown of talks, the future of these favorable conditions is uncertain. The cheese arrangement ended last year, leading to the current high taxes on British cheese imports.

Food and agricultural perspectives in trade discussions
Both countries are working toward a deal that could benefit both their farmers and consumers.

Minette Batters, the president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) of England and Wales, expressed that the UK’s decision brought relief to farmers. She suggests Canada was demanding too much and offering too little, especially regarding products like beef and cheese, hindering progress that would have been mutually beneficial for both countries.

She commended the government for maintaining this stance, especially in the context of fully liberalizing trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, which are perceived to impact the UK’s agricultural sector.

“I’m delighted that the Prime Minister has stuck to his word that he will not have hormone-treated beef onto our marketplace,” she states in a recent NFU video. 

“This all goes back to that petition in 2020, of over a million people signing it and saying that they did not want to see food that was illegal to produce here imported.”

Back then, various agri-food stakeholders in the UK also joined forces to urge the government to uphold and even bolster protections and safeguards on food.

In Canada, hormones have been employed in beef cattle since the 1960s to steer growth towards muscle rather than fat.

Canada’s trade minister, Mary Ng, expressed confidence in achieving a mutually beneficial agreement with the UK through the spokeswoman. However, she voiced disappointment at the pause in talks and emphasized that they would not settle for a deal that is unfavorable to Canadian consumers and farmers.

Environmental implications
Hormonal growth promotants play a big role in enhancing the efficiency of meat production, with the residual amount of hormones in the consumed meat claimed to be extremely low. 

However, the use of hormonal growth promotants in meat production has been prohibited in the European Union since 1989, and this restriction has recently been incorporated into UK law as part of its withdrawal from the EU. 

The hormones used in beef production can be either natural or synthetic, with synthetic compounds being particularly slow to break down. Consequently, they may pass through an animal’s digestive and urinary systems, entering the surrounding environment. The half-life of synthetic compounds used can be as long as 200 days, posing environmental concerns if runoff from feedlots is not adequately managed. 

In order to maintain sustainability, proper handling, such as holding wastewater for a designated period to allow for compound degradation or heavily diluting it to lower concentrations, is needed to mitigate potential adverse effects on the environment.

By Sichong Wong