IFA Munster chairman James McCarthy spoke at the meeting and insisted on the need for "equivalence of standards" in any trade deal. "European countries cannot be expected to compete against countries which have lower standards," he told the Irish Farmers Journal, in reference to obligations such as livestock tagging, recording requirements and restricted use of veterinary products.

The use of growth hormones in beef production is a well known point of contention, but other examples exist. "We have higher feed costs because the US are a big grain producer and are allowed to use GM," said McCarthy.

"Our beef sector would be vulnerable - maybe not so much at the moment because we see beef prices in the US are at a record high, but things can change around between currency movements and derivative prices," he added.

While McCarthy acknowledged that Ireland's agri-food sector could benefit from opportunities in the US after a trade agreement thanks to existing connections and the large Irish-American community there, he said all speakers at Monday's event were worried about the lack of information on negotiations so far.

"There are concerns that the actions of the previous Commission were very much behind closed doors and if this deal as good as we are led to believe it is, then it should be carried out in a transparent fashion," he said.

Matt Carthy, too, raised transparency issues, including the fact that MEPs have access to some documents on TTIP talks but are not allowed to discuss them publicly.

ICSA general secretary Eddie Punch also spoke at the meeting and called for limiting tariff rate quotas on US beef entering the EU, as well as access to the US for Irish manufacturing beef.

"When we joined the Common Market in 1973, farmers typically got up to 75% of the final retail price, but nowadays it's more like 30-40%. The panacea of access to markets has been somewhat illusory," Punch said. Although he acknowledged that European integration had resulted in farmers being better off, "the benefits of unfettered free trade do not cascade down equally or fairly to the primary producer," he said.

Punch called for "a substantial campaign against the elements of a deal which are not in the interests of Irish agriculture".

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