US farmers call out EU for 'shameful' resistance to agricultural trade

US farm lobby groups, ranging from dairy lobbyists, pig producers and grain exporters, called the EU to ease its stance on agricultural trade
US farm lobby groups, ranging from dairy lobbyists, pig producers and grain exporters, called the EU to ease its stance on agricultural trade

US farmers have criticised the EU for their “shameful” resistance to including agriculture in a potential free trade agreement.

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), a US pork trade association based in Des Moines, Iowa, said if the EU continued its resistance it would lead to “food insecurity and strife”.

The group said it would be an “enormous tactical victory for the EU if it were able to engage in trade negotiations with the US while excluding agriculture, its most protected and sensitive sector.”

The US and the EU have been engaged in trade talks since a meeting at the White House in July between President Trump and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

But the exclusion of agricultural goods in a potential free trade deal has proven to be controversial for US farmers.

The NPPC said on Friday (14 December) that it is “increasingly frustrated” at the stance of “Europeans who ignorantly or maliciously disparage the safety of US food products”.

In the US, the Government permits such practices as chlorinated chicken, which consists of dipping meat into chlorinated water to prevent microbial contamination.

But this practice is banned in the EU, which fears the practice could actually worsen safety standards.

Earlier this year, pig producers said that any trade agreement with the UK and US post-Brexit needs to be based on US production practices.

But a House of Lords report warns of the potential increase in cheaper, lower-standard food imports to the UK which could put British farmers at a competitive disadvantage.

However, the pork lobby group said: “The EU model will lead to food insecurity and strife; the US model will lead to food security and a safer tomorrow.”

The NPPC were joined by other farm lobby groups, from dairy lobbyists to grain exporters, in calling for the EU to ease its stance on agriculture.