Farming and food sector leaders said they were “very concerned” about the concessions ministers could make while trying to secure an exemption from Donald Trump’s tariffs. This would give US producers – who have lower standards and a competitive advantage – greater access to the UK market, putting struggling British farmers under further pressure. Mr Bradshaw said: “I think we’re very very concerned.”Mr Bradshaw said the sector has an “absolute expectation that (ministers) cannot sacrifice agriculture at this moment in time to the benefit of other sectors”. “The cost of that is simply unthinkable with the finances of the country as they are today,” Mr Bradshaw said. “The regime that we put in place in the UK, what we call our SPS regime, which is our food standards regime, that’s the red line for us,” he said.

Source: The Times April 01, 2025 16:18 UTC