Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will hold discussions with the US Administration on the importation of American hormone-free beef products for when the UK leaves the EU.

The UK currently receives imports of hormone-free beef, which meets our standards, from the US and a range of other non-EU countries under the autonomous grain-fed beef quota, the high-quality beef or Hilton quota, and under World Trade Organisation (WTO) most favoured nation rates. When we leave the EU we will maintain our high standards for products being imported in to the UK.

The UK Government will discuss the tariff rate quotas set out in the UK’s Schedule of Concessions on Goods under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade with the US and other countries as part of establishing its independent WTO membership.