The deal gave UK  a U.S. quota for beef of 13,000 metric tonnes, which the country’s National Farmers Union said was a positive. Under the deal, U.S. farmers will have the same quota for sales into Britain.

Crucially there will be no weakening of UK food standards on U.S. beef imports, which was a red line for the union and an election manifesto pledge for the Labour government. That means U.S. beef bred with growth hormones still won’t be allowed into the UK.

“We appreciate the government’s efforts in listening to our concerns, particularly around maintaining high standards, protecting sensitive agricultural sectors and securing reciprocal access for beef,” NFU President Tom Bradshaw said.

Deal will ‘exponentially increase’ beef exports, says Rollins

Brooke Rollins, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, said the deal would “exponentially increase” U.S. beef exports to Britain.

However, with little price differential between British produced beef and U.S. beef that does meet UK standards, the U.S. product could struggle to find a UK market.

Finding favour with the UK consumer may also be a tough task. Currently all fresh beef sold by Britain’s two biggest supermarket groups – Tesco and Sainsbury’s is British and Irish.

Bradshaw also said he was concerned that the U.S. had been given full access to Britain’s market for bioethanol, which is used to produce beer.

“Two agricultural sectors have been singled out to shoulder the heavy burden of the removal of tariffs for other industries in the economy,” he added.

Progress welcomed

The United States has been under pressure from investors to strike deals to de-escalate its tariff war after Trump’s often chaotic policymaking upended global trade with friends and foe alike, threatening to stoke inflation and start a recession.

Top U.S. officials have engaged in a flurry of meetings with trading partners since the president on April 2 imposed a 10 per cent tariff on most countries, along with higher rates for many trading partners that were then suspended for 90 days.

The U.S. has also imposed 25 per cent tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum, 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico (for goods not covered under the CUSMA trade agreement), and 145 per cent tariffs on China. U.S. and Chinese officials are due to hold talks in Switzerland on Saturday.

Jake Colvin, president of the National Foreign Trade Council in the U.S., welcomed the progress. “Businesses will be looking to see the extent to which an agreement removes President Trump’s tariffs, addresses longstanding U.K. irritants and provides guarantees against future tariff hikes.”

—Reporting by Alistair Smout, Andrew MacAskill, Andrea Shalal, James Davey and Sachin Ravikumar

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“We will not undercut standards in trade deals. The previous government did that with the Australia deal to the fury of the sector and we have ruled that out,” Reed told the National Farmers’ Union’s annual conference.

Reed said the import of hormone-treated beef, for example, would not be allowed.

Both Britain and the European Union currently ban the import of beef produced using growth hormones which are given to cattle in some producing countries including the U.S.

The European Union announced earlier this month it is planning tougher restrictions on imported crops treated with pesticides banned in Europe, a move that would impact suppliers including the U.S.

“I know that if British farmers and producers compete on a level playing field they can win but if that playing field is unbalanced they are at a huge disadvantage,” he said.

Reed was asked about the import of sugar produced using neonicotinoid pesticides that are now banned in Britain.

“We now need to go back and look at the trade deals because they need to line up with our commitment to not undercut UK producers,” he said, adding it was a work in progress.

NFU president Tom Bradshaw highlighted the issue during his speech at the conference.

“What the previous government did with signing these early trade deals forcing us to compete against food produced to lower standards was unworkable and wrong,” Bradshaw said.

“This new government has the opportunity to set a new course.

— Reporting by Nigel Hunt

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Britain and Canada paused talks over a new free trade agreement in January amid disagreement on Rules of Origin (ROO) arrangements, due to expire at the end of March, as well as mutual unhappiness about a lack of access to agricultural markets.

On Wednesday, Britain said Canada had decided not to roll over the Rules of Origin arrangements it had agreed when it left the European Union, terms that had been used as a stop gap while the two sides tried to agree on a full trade deal.

Under the terms, both sides agreed that UK goods that used inputs either from the EU or processed in the bloc should count as made in the UK and as such qualify for lower tariffs in Canada. An end to the agreement could leave carmakers that do not meet the new ROO requirements facing a tariff of 6.1 per cent in Canada.

“Canada’s decision not to roll over these Rules of Origin will increase the cost of trade and hurt businesses on both sides of the Atlantic,” a spokesperson for Britain’s Department for Business and Trade said.

“The UK government remains ready to work with Canada to find a solution that works for both countries, but we won’t accept rowing back on the current terms.”

Canada’s trade ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

British auto exports to Canada were worth almost 700 million pounds ($883.68 million) in 2023. Britain’s Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) said new tariffs would be deeply disappointing.

“We urge all parties to be pragmatic, to resume negotiations on an upgraded trade deal and, in the meantime, agree the extension of EU cumulation that would avoid the imposition of tariffs until a new deal is finalized,” said SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes.

In late 2023, Britain rolled over similar ROO arrangements with South Korea and Mexico.

Britain and Canada, both members of the Commonwealth and the G7, are allies with close historical ties. But the negotiation of new trading terms has brought their competing interests to the fore.

British sensitivity to Canadian hormone-treated beef and spats over cheese quotas marred talks over a new free trade agreement.

A UK government source said the government had been trying to find an agreement with Canada over ROO for several months but that Ottawa had shown “no willingness” to agree an extension.

—Additional reporting for Reuters by David Ljunggren in Ottawa.

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Heavy rain since autumn is expected to have reduced sharply wheat planting in France, Germany and Britain, and the damp end to winter has raised doubts over whether farmers will be able to switch as much as area as anticipated to spring barley.

“We have already lost some wheat volumes in France, Germany and Britain,” Maxence Devillers, an analyst with Argus, said. “But the worst may be behind us and the weather forecast for the next two weeks could help improve things.”

Weather charts showed relatively dry conditions in the week ahead in Germany and Britain though parts of France may stay wet.

In France, spring barley sowing has hardly advanced in the past month, while for earlier-sown wheat conditions are at their worst in four years, according to farm office FranceAgriMer.

A drying out of fields could lead French farmers to extend spring barley planting beyond the optimal window that ends in mid-March, while persisting wetness would lead them to transfer some area to later-sown maize and sunflower, Devillers said.

In Britain, parts of southern England experienced their wettest February on record.

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) late last year estimated Britain’s wheat area would fall three per cent this year and spring barley area would jump 11 per cent, but the agency is doing a follow-up survey to re-assess the impact of heavy rain.

However, rain in Europe has varied within countries, with some zones are benefiting from moisture after drought in the past two years, while mild temperatures have spared crops from frost damage, according to analysts.

“Overall, the spring sowing is going pretty well in Germany nationally, with problems concentrated in some northern regions,” one German analyst said.

Weak prices for maize could favour planting of other spring crops.

“For spring sowings in Germany I would expect increased plantings of spring wheat and malting barley,” the local analyst said.

In Poland, where wet conditions may delay slightly the start of spring planting in most regions, maize could also lose out, said Wojtek Sabaranski of analysts Sparks Polska.

“Due to a deep slide in maize prices this season, the area planted to maize this spring is likely to considerably decline, in favour of such grains as oats and barley, as the supply of these grains has been tight, and prices paid high,” he said.

Elsewhere, winter rain has proved beneficial for crops by easing drought in Spain, Romania and Bulgaria, though moisture levels remained low in the east of Romania and Bulgaria, Argus’ Devillers said.

–Reporting for Reuters by Gus Trompiz in Paris, Michael Hogan in Hamburg and Nigel Hunt in London.

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“CCA has been following the bilateral negotiations closely and has been concerned at the lack of ambition and cooperation from the UK in these negotiations,” said Nathan Phinney, the CCA’s president, in a news release late yesterday.

Yesterday, Canadian officials said the UK had suspended talks on a free trade deal with Canada amid unhappiness on both sides about the lack of access to agricultural markets. The talks, which started in March 2022, are among a number of negotiations Britain has launched around the world in the wake of its decision to leave the European Union, which excluded it from existing EU free trade deals.

“The Canadian beef industry is a strong advocate of free and open trade. To avoid getting a bad trade deal for Canadians, we need trade partners that want to trade fairly and not use rules and regulations to their own advantage,” Phinney added.

The CCA said the beef industry will continue to oppose adding the UK into the Comprehensive and Progressive Transpacific Partnership (CPTPP) “until the fundamental obstacles to export Canadian beef to the UK are fully addressed.”

Canada and other nations welcomed Britain into the CPTPP in July. In response, the Canadian Meat Council (CMA), the Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) and the Canadian Pork Council issued a joint statement “strongly opposing” the move.

“The U.K. does not accept Canada’s food safety and animal health systems and measures, and those non-tariff barriers limit our access to the U.K. market,” the three groups said.

“The UK currently has unlimited access for British beef exports to Canada while Canadian beef producers are unable to export into the UK market,” the CCA said in yesterday’s release.

In a statement posted on social media platform X, a British government spokesperson said “we reserve the right to pause negotiations with any country if progress is not being made”.

Before Britain left the EU trading sphere at the end of 2020, Canada rolled over existing trade arrangements to ensure free trade could continue. One particular arrangement dealing with cheese access has now expired.

“Since the UK has not shown willingness to resolve this market access issue, it is in Canada’s best interest to focus our efforts at different trade negotiations,” the CCA said. “Canadian beef producers would also encourage the Government of Canada to re-examine the UK’s current beef access to Canada in both the Trade Continuity Agreement (TCA) and the CPTPP to ensure fairness and equitable access.

–With files from Reuters

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The talks – which started in March 2022 – are among a number of negotiations Britain has launched around the world in the wake of its decision to leave the European Union, which excluded it from existing EU free trade deals.

“We are disappointed that negotiations with the UK are being paused. Their decision to continue to maintain market access barriers for our agriculture industry and unwillingness to reach a mutual agreement has only stalled negotiations,” said a spokeswoman for Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng.

Ng has contacted British business minister Kemi Badenoch to express Canada’s disappointment, the spokeswoman added.

Canadian farmers complain they have been effectively shut out of the British beef market because of regulations banning the use of hormones.

In a statement posted on social media platform X, a British government spokesperson said “we reserve the right to pause negotiations with any country if progress is not being made”.

Before Britain left the EU trading sphere at the end of 2020, Canada rolled over existing trade arrangements to ensure free trade could continue.

One particular arrangement dealing with cheese access has now expired and a Canadian government official blamed Britain for the lack of an extension deal.

“Unfortunately, Britain did not act as fast as it should have in negotiations, and expects Canada to just give (it) these things,” said the official, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Both sides said they were ready to resume talks. According to official British data, total bilateral trade in goods and services was 25.9 billion pounds (CAD $44.4 billion) in the year ending June 30, 2023, when Canada was Britain’s 18th largest trading partner.

According to Canadian data, bilateral trade with Britain in 2022 accounted for just 2.7 per cent of the total.

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Russia in July pulled out of a deal that had allowed Ukraine to safely ship food products out through what is traditionally its main export corridor.

Ukraine responded by setting up a temporary “humanitarian corridor” for cargo vessels, and several ships have left Ukraine’s Black Sea ports since.

Britain said its assessment of the intelligence was that Russia was seeking to target civilian shipping travelling through the humanitarian corridor in order to deter the export of Ukrainian grain.

“Russia almost certainly wants to avoid openly sinking civilian ships, instead falsely laying blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea,” Britain’s Foreign Office said in a statement.

“By releasing our assessment of this intelligence, the UK seeks to expose Russia’s tactics to deter any such incident from occurring.”

Last month Britain accused Russia of targeting a civilian cargo ship at port in the Black Sea on Aug. 24 in a missile attack it said was successfully thwarted by Ukrainian defences.

Britain said it was working with Ukraine and other partners to put in place arrangements to improve the safety of shipping, and was using its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to monitor Russian activity in the Black Sea.

— Reporting for Reuters by Kylie MacLellan in London.

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Prime ministers Boris Johnson and Jacinda Ardern sealed the deal in a Zoom call on Wednesday after 16 months of negotiation.

“This is a great trade deal for the United Kingdom, cementing our long friendship with New Zealand and furthering our ties with the Indo-Pacific,” Johnson said in a statement.

It comes only months after a similar British agreement with Australia as ministers in London look to flesh out a post-Brexit pivot away from relying on commerce with the European Union.

New Zealand’s prime minister, Ardern, said at a news conference in Wellington that the trade deal was the country’s best ever.

“This deal serves New Zealand’s economy and exporters well as we reconnect, rebuild and recover from COVID-19, and look forward into the future,” Ardern said.

All tariffs on all products will be eliminated between both countries — and a vast majority of these, 97 per cent, will be removed the day the trade deal comes into force, Ardern said.

It also fully opens up the British market to lamb imports from New Zealand, which upset Britain’s farmers.

“The government is now asking British farmers to go toe-to-toe with some of the most export-orientated farmers in the world, without the serious, long-term and properly funded investment in U.K. agriculture that can enable us to do so,” National Farmers’ Union president Minette Batters said.

Britain stressed the liberalization will be phased over more than a decade and said that existing lamb quotas are not fully utilized.

The deal took longer to reach than expected, coming nearly two months after a target date, and was criticized by Britain’s opposition Labour Party as harming farmers and failing to deliver on jobs, exports or economic growth.

However, ministers see it as another stepping stone toward joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) — an 11-country bloc including Australia, Singapore and Mexico.

CPTPP membership has emerged as Britain’s top post-Brexit trade aim after the prospects of a quick and comprehensive deal with the United States faded. Britain is hoping to become a member by the end of 2022.

It also aligns with their foreign policy push for more influence in the Indo-Pacific to try to moderate China’s global dominance.

— Reporting for Reuters by William James in London and Praveen Menon in Wellington.

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A post-Brexit shortage of workers, exacerbated by the global strains of the COVID crisis, has sown chaos through supply chains for everything from fuel and pork to poultry and bottled water, raising concerns growth could be crimped.

One fourth-generation dairy farmer who owns a Holstein Friesian herd in central England was forced to dump 40,000 litres of milk in the past two months when no driver turned up to collect it.

“It’s cutting, it’s emotionally draining when you’re producing milk and at the end of the day you have to pull the plug and it has to go,” said the farmer, who asked not to be named due to concerns about the impact of negative publicity on contractors.

The farmer was forced to destroy four milk loads in the past two months due to shortages though in an entire career of 45 years he can remember doing it only two or three times before — and then due to bad weather.

The United Kingdom produced 15.3 billion litres of milk last year so supplies are not yet threatened, though the destruction of milk shows the extent of the labour problems which are straining supply chains across the land.

Distressed milk

Razor-thin margins and the perishable nature of milk mean supply shocks are quickly felt by dairy farmers, according to Peter Alvis, chairman of the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers, the industry body which lobbies for farmer interests.

“I don’t think things with global supply chains have settled down again after the pandemic, and the shortage of HGV drivers is having quite a large impact,” he said.

Alvis said milk wastage was so far limited to a few incidents, though precise data is hard to come by.

In an indication of the pressures on the dairy industry, many farmers have had to turn to distress milk services, small companies set up to buy milk at lower prices and transport it to other outlets in an effort to stop it being dumped.

Rob Huntbatch, 38, rescues milk for half its normal price and turns it into curd, and typically has two hours from when a farmer calls him to pick up the milk before it is dumped.

In Cheshire alone, Huntbatch saved 160,000 litres of milk in September – an increase of 100,000 litres from the previous month – but was still unable to save 80,000 litres.

“This is only the tip of the iceberg,” Huntbatch said. “I think it will get worse – in wintertime, if there’s snow, drivers get slowed down, and it’s going to be make even more of an impact.”

The uncertainties around milk transport are combining with skyrocketing costs for farmers. Fertilizer used to grow feed for the cows, has spiked in price along with natural gas prices, and electricity prices are also jumping.

Henry Bloxham, a 61-year old Staffordshire dairy farmer who owns 250 cows, says his fertilizer prices have risen by 150% in three weeks and fuel increased by 10p a litre in the last week alone.

If costs continue at current levels, he says he will consider leaving the industry by next April.

“If we have to keep paying these costs, you will see a mass exodus of dairy farmers next summer,” he said.

— Victor Jack is a Reuters reporter in London, England.

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An acute shortage of butchers and slaughterers in the meat processing industry has been exacerbated by COVID-19 and Britain’s post-Brexit immigration policy, which has restricted the flow of east European workers.

The government on Sunday announced a plan to issue temporary visas for 5,000 foreign truck drivers and 5,500 poultry workers to alleviate shortages but has given no indication it will introduce schemes for other areas. It argues businesses should invest in their workforce and improve pay and conditions.

Lizzie Wilson, policy services officer at the National Pig Association (NPA), said the shortage of butchers meant processors were operating at 25 per cent reduced capacity.

As a result mature pigs ready for processing are backing up on farms, causing welfare issues.

“There’s about 120,000 pigs sat on farm currently that should have already been slaughtered, butchered, be within the food chain and eaten by now,” said Wilson.

“It is getting to the point where we are saying to government if we don’t get some help soon we’re going to have to look at culling pigs on farm, because that’s our only option now,” she said, adding “there are some producers that have already had the conversation.”

Britain’s biggest pork processors are Cranswick, Morrisons, Pilgrim’s Pride and Karro Food Group.

Wilson said consumers were already seeing the impact of the crisis on supermarket shelves as processors had rationalized pork product ranges.

Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers Union, said a cull of up to 150,000 pigs was “potentially a week, 10 days away.”

“I do not feel anybody can preside over a welfare cull of healthy livestock. I don’t believe it has happened in the world before and it cannot happen now,” she told the BBC.

Batters said she wants an urgent meeting with interior minister Priti Patel and immigration minister Kevin Foster.

She said she has been trying to get a meeting with Patel for two years.

David Lindars, technical operations director at the British Meat Processors Association, said a cull “was getting very close.”

“I don’t understand this government any more. It has to get to white shelves in the supermarket scenario before they believe it,” he said.

A spokesperson for the government said it was aware of the challenges that the pig industry has faced in recent months.

“We are keeping the market under close review and continuing to work closely with the sector to explore options to address the pressures the industry is currently facing,” the spokesperson said.

— James Davey reports for Reuters from London, England.

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