- By Paul Seddon
- Political reporter
January 25, 2024
Updated 54 minutes ago
Image source: Getty Images
The United Kingdom has called off its trade talks with Canada after nearly two years of a post-Brexit deal following a dispute over beef and cheese.
Trade between the two countries currently takes place under an agreement that the UK inherited from its time as an EU member.
A temporary agreement allowed Britain to continue selling cars and cheese without high import tariffs.
But talks about extending this as part of a new contract have now failed.
It is the first time since the UK formally left the EU trading regime in 2021 that the UK has officially suspended talks with a trading partner.
It also means that the UK's trading terms with Canada will now be worse than when it was part of the EU's agreement with the country.
British carmakers now face the prospect of imposing higher tariffs – import duties – on sales in the Canadian market from early April.
Higher Canadian tariffs on British cheese had already come into effect earlier this month after previous conditions expired at the end of 2023.
Discussions between the two countries on a tailor-made agreement have been taking place since March 2022.
Canada's government was under political pressure from domestic cheese producers.
She had also pushed for the UK to ease its ban on hormone-treated beef, which producers say is effectively driving them out of the UK market.
A spokeswoman for Canada's Trade Minister Mary Ng said she was “disappointed” by the pause in talks and had told Britain's Business Minister Kemi Badenoch this.
“Their decision to continue to maintain market access barriers for our agricultural industry and their unwillingness to reach a mutual agreement have only stalled negotiations,” the spokeswoman added.
“The UK is a long-standing trading partner and I am confident we can negotiate an agreement that is a win-win for Canada and the UK.”
“But let me be clear: We will not negotiate an agreement that is not good for Canadians – and not good for our Canadian businesses, farmers and workers.”
A British government spokeswoman said it reserved the right to “suspend negotiations with any country if progress is not made.”
“We have always said we will only negotiate trade deals that serve the British people,” they added.
“We remain open to resuming discussions with Canada in the future to build a stronger trading relationship.”
A British government source said: “If Canada comes back to the table with a serious offer and a desire to move forward, we will be very attentive.”
According to the British government, total trade in goods between the two countries was worth 19.2 billion pounds in 2020, with British imports from Canada worth 7.3 billion pounds and British exports to Canada worth 11.8 billion pounds billion pounds.
Minette Batters, president of the Nation Farmers' Union of England and Wales, said the decision was “a relief for farmers”.
She told BBC Radio 4's Today program that she was pleased that “the government has stuck to its guns and not backed down”.
“We have already damaged our economy and agricultural sector by fully liberalizing trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand. We had to take a clear line here.”