The report carried out by Copenhagen Economics, which was launched today at Dublin Castle, suggests that should the deal go ahead the value of Irish beef output could contract by as much as €50m.

Eddie Downey, the IFA President, said that following a meeting yesterday with the authors of the report, both Copenhagen Economics and officials from the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment accepted that TTIP presented very significant risks to both our beef and white meats sector.

He added that the detailed concerns raised in an IFA assessment on TTIP were accepted as real and that they would have to be fully addressed in any final trade deal.

The report says that when agricultural imports from the US are factored in the Copenhagen Economics report, overall gains for the Irish agriculture sector are marginal, a projection which has led the IFA to ask the government to "guard against selling out our vital beef and white meats sectors for potential gains in other areas that may not materialise."

The IFA warned the government that it must immediately get involved in the negotiations to ensure that the threats to the beef pork and poultry identified from a TTIP deal are addressed with limited tariff reductions, quantities allowed in and most importantly that equivalence of standards apply in any final deal.