Britain ready to allow import of chlorinated chicken from US

Britain is prepared to permit imports of chlorinated chicken from the US but will slap high tariffs on cheaply-produced food in order to minimise the impact on British farmers.

The latest Government proposal for a trade deal with the US is for a “dual tariff” regime that imposes different levels of duty on imported foods, depending on whether they comply with UK animal welfare standards.

Hormone-fed beef, chlorinated chicken and other foods that use techniques banned in Britain will be allowed across the Atlantic, but ministers want to use tariffs to make it uneconomical for US producers to export them to the UK.

High-quality foods, such as organically-reared free range meat, would be subject to lower tariffs in order to encourage foreign producers to lift their animal welfare to British levels.

The National Farmers’ Union described the scheme as “a significant step forwards” because it would prevent the US from flooding the UK market with cheap food produced using techniques banned in Britain.

But Brexiteers will be concerned that British consumers will not see the benefits of Brexit in the form of cheaper food on supermarket shelves.

It represents a major victory for George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, over Liz Truss, the International Trade Secretary, with free marketeer Ms Truss having championed an alternative proposal that would have seen tariffs reduced to zero over 10 years.

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