Cheap pork imports ‘a serious risk’ to UK food
Import tariffs on non-EU pork and a free trade agreement with Europe are vital to uphold food standards post-Brexit, the National Pig Association (NPA) has warned.
The tariffs are in place to ensure that imported pigmeat, produced at low cost using banned drugs or inhumane systems, cannot undermine EU production.
The UK is continuing to impose EU tariffs during the Brexit transition period while it negotiates a new trade deal with the EU.
The transition period is scheduled to end on 31 December.
The NPA said reverting to the less protective tariffs proposed by the government last year in the event of a no-deal Brexit would put the industry at serious risk of being undercut by imports produced to standards outlawed in the UK.
About 60% of UK demand is met by imported pork, meaning such a move could open the floodgates to US pigmeat.
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