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A trade deal between the UK and US could undermine domestic food production, a former UK government minister has said.
“My worry is that the Americans will press very hard for complete liberalisation in trade in food without any kind of pre-conditions,” Theresa Villers said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“I have great fears if there is unfettered competition between domestic farmers and US imports,” she said.
Villiers was Secretary of State at Defra, the government department which includes agriculture, from July 2019 until February 2020.
The Conservative MP campaigned for Brexit, but has become increasingly vocal about food import standards in new trade deals with third countries.
Agriculture Bill
Earlier this month, Villiers rebelled against the government and backed an unsuccessful amendment to the Agriculture Bill which sought to make it a legal requirement for food imports to meet domestic production standards.
“I think it would be reasonable for the UK to say if we are going to open our markets and reduce our tariffs, food imports should comply with standards of animal welfare that are equivalent to our own and equally with standards of environmental protection that are equivalent to our own,” she said.
Chlorine chicken
The whole issue of post-Brexit food standards usually comes back to a discussion around chlorine-washed chicken carcases.
Villiers pointed out that importing chlorine-treated chicken is currently illegal in the UK, but there would be “significant pressure” from the US to lift the restriction.
She also said post-Brexit trade deals that lead to unfair competition for UK farmers would effectively undermine food security.
“The COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated the importance of food security,” Villiers added.
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