There are reports this week that the incoming US administration may sign up to a trade deal with the UK that doesn’t include access for US hormone-fed beef to the British market.

If this was the case, the UK and US could quickly conclude a trade deal that would give the US a considerable quota for non-hormone fed beef.

This was the case in UK trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, and a US deal would be much more lucrative for the UK than either of these deals.

Incoming US president, Donald Trump was a keen supporter of the UK leaving the EU. The thinking in the US is that he would be particularly amenable to doing business with the UK than many other trading partners.

A new high value export market would be good news for US beef factories who have had a tough year in 2024. Both Tyson Foods and Cargill, two of the big four US beef processors, have recently announced job losses.

The difficulty for US processors comes from not being able to get sufficiently increased beef value to cover cattle prices that have remained above the equivalent of €6/kg as the US cattle herd fell to its lowest point since 1951.