There is still room for discussion on chlorinated chicken and hormone beef in future Anglo-American trade talks post-Brexit, according to Darci Vetter, who was chief agricultural negotiator at the US Trade Representative and deputy under-secretary in the USDA during the Obama administration.

Speaking on the Irish Farmers Journal 2020 Vision webinar, she said that both the UK and the US would have to take “a really pragmatic approach” to trade talks.

The National Farmers Union in the UK has been adamantly opposed to any imports that do not meet current UK food standards or could undercut British produce. There are also concerns in the UK agriculture industry that the Government might sacrifice UK agriculture goods for a trade deal with the US.

Vetter said that the UK public seemed to be anything but pragmatic and were adopting an absolutist stance against US chlorinated chicken but ultimately the question would be asked in talks if this position was being based on food safety grounds or as a barrier to trade.

“If chlorinated chicken is really being used as a way to say we just don’t want US chicken, and we won’t accept other methods either I think that’s going to be a much more difficult,” she said.

“Because at the end of the day, the question is what is the market access for US product, and are the conditions that you’re asking US producers to meet? Are they reasonable? Do they actually affect food safety or are they simply barriers to trade?”