September 10, 2013

The EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) could lead to millions of pounds in international exports and has the potential to bring several benefits to the beef and lamb sector.

The head of the English Beef and Lamb Executive (EBLEX) trade development, Peter Hardwick raised the potential of the trade agreement at a meeting chaired by Food and Farming Minister, David Heath, and Cabinet Minister, Kenneth Clarke.

There will be two sets of negotiation rounds on tackling different regulations, standards and certifications. The first round took place in Washington DC, US, in July and the second is due to take place in Brussels, Belgium, in October.

Estimations show that an agreement could cause EU companies to sell a further US$248 billion worth of goods and services yearly to the US.

According to Hardwick, the companies have a responsibility to help drive the efficiency and profitability of the beef and lamb sector. The EU-US TTIP is seen as a potentially positive move for the sector. The organisations have also responded positively to an invitation by Heath and Clarke to discuss the opportunities which the partnership could present, ahead of the second round of negotiations.

"At the same time, we need to highlight the risks of significantly reduced tariffs and increased access to the EU without full regard to the effect this might have on our own producers, who operate with higher regulatory costs in areas such as animal welfare, the use of hormones, genetically modified (GM) and environmental legislation," Hardwick added.

Hardwick explained that for the beef and lamb sector, issues regarding technical barriers on ruminants need to be resolved and the implications the agreement could have for relationships with third country markets.

He added that should an agreement be reached, it would allow them to enter into a process with the US authorities to secure individual plant approval for exports. As it stands, there are currently no USDA-approved beef plants in the UK and exporting to the US will therefore not be immediate. A key issue to be resolved will be the recognition of equivalence on plant standards.

Heath explained that a new trade and investment partnership is "immensely important" for the future of the UK food and drink sector. "With almost US$2.7 billion traded between us every day already, it could be the biggest trade deal in history. A new deal needs to keep regulations to a minimum and remove the barriers which prevent our farmers and producers from tapping into the huge US market," he added.