UK Halts Trade Talks with Canada over imposing ban on hormones in beef

• The UK has halted trade talks with Canada after two years of post-Brexit negotiations.
• The current trade arrangement allows the UK to sell cars and cheese.
• British car companies face higher tariffs on their exports to the Canadian market starting in April.

After almost two years of post-Brexit negotiations, the UK has halted its trade talks with Canada due to a disagreement regarding beef and cheese. The current trade arrangement between the two nations operates under the terms of a deal the UK inherited from its EU membership, allowing it to sell cars and cheese without significant import taxes for a limited time. However, discussions to extend these terms as part of a new agreement have now collapsed.

The breakdown in negotiations means that the UK’s trading terms with Canada will be less favorable than those under the EU’s deal with the country. This development marks the first formal suspension of talks with a trade partner by the UK since officially leaving the EU trading regime in 2021.

British car companies are now confronted with the prospect of higher tariffs on their exports to the Canadian market starting in April. Higher Canadian tariffs, reaching up to 245% on British cheese, came into effect earlier this month when the previous terms expired at the end of 2023.

Negotiations for a bespoke agreement between the two countries have been ongoing since March 2022. Canada’s government faced political pressure from domestic cheese producers and advocated for the UK to lift a ban on hormone-treated beef, which, according to its producers, hinders their access to the British market. A spokeswoman for the UK government emphasized the right to “pause negotiations with any country if progress is not being made.

“We have always said we will only negotiate trade deals that deliver for the British people,” they added.

“We remain open to restarting talks with Canada in the future to build a stronger trading relationship”.

A UK government source said: “If Canada comes back to the table with a serious offer and a desire to make progress we’re all ears.”

Canada’s trade minister Mary Ng’s spokeswoman expressed disappointment at the pause in talks and conveyed this sentiment to UK Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch.

“Their decision to continue to maintain market access barriers for our agriculture industry and unwillingness to reach a mutual agreement has only stalled negotiations,” the spokeswoman added.

“The UK is a long-standing trading partner and I am confident that we can negotiate an agreement that is win-win for Canada and for the UK”.

“But let me be clear – we will not negotiate an agreement that is not good for Canadians – and not good for our Canadian businesses, farmers, and workers”.

The UK government reported that the total goods trade between the two countries in 2020 amounted to £19.2bn, with the UK importing £7.3bn worth of goods from Canada and exporting £11.8bn worth of goods to Canada.

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