Canadian meat industry urges MPs to reject U.K. membership in trade deal

“We simply cannot accept this,” said Nathan Phinney, President of the Canadian Cattle Association, during an interview on Monday. “We’re not standing behind it, and we will oppose it with everything we have.”

The CPTPP, formed in 2018, is a trading alliance comprising of countries like Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The combined population of the group amounts to over 500 million people, making it represent approximately 15% of the global economy.

Based on reports from the Canadian government, since 2018, Canadian exports to countries involved in the CPTPP have risen by more than 35% to around $24 billion this year.

Recently, the United Kingdom concluded negotiations to enter the CPTPP as the first new member, thereby becoming the third largest single-country trading partner with Canada. However, the meat industry remains livid due to the UK’s continued refusal to accept the food safety and animal health protocols adopted by Canada.

At the root of the issue lies the U.K.’s disinclination to accept beef products treated with growth hormones – a common agricultural practice in Canada – and its disregard for antimicrobial livestock carcass washes utilized by Canadian slaughterhouses. In view of this, the Canadian Cattle Association and the Canadian Pork Council, as well as Canadian meat processors and exporters, deem it inappropriate for the U.K. to join a pact based on free trade.