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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what mechanisms have been agreed with the United States to monitor compliance with sanitary and phytosanitary standards under paragraph 2(a) of the General Terms.

On 8 May, the UK Government announced a landmark economic deal with the United States, making the UK the first country to reach an agreement with President Trump. This delivers on the commitment by the Prime Minister and the President on 27 February to agree an economic deal in our respective national interests.

All food imports into the UK, including those via the new reciprocal quotas for beef agreed with the US, must comply with all of the UK’s import requirements, including sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) rules. That means that hormone-treated beef will remain banned in the UK and will not be permitted under the economic deal with the US.

The UK has effective systems and checks in place to monitor compliance with our SPS rules. Nothing has changed in this agreement with regards to how the UK controls the safety of food imported from the US. Each consignment of beef must have an export health certificate, certified by a veterinarian as compliant with British legislation, including the ban on hormone-treated beef. There are also regular checks at the UK border, including taking samples of products to look for any contaminants and drug residues.

We have always been clear that this Government will protect British farmers, secure our food security and uphold our high food, animal welfare and environmental standards in trade deals. That is exactly what we have done and will continue to do. Any agricultural imports coming into the UK will have to meet our high SPS standards.