Britain must allow US chlorine-washed chicken into UK markets if it wants relief from sweeping tariffs, Donald Trump has indicated.
It comes after the UK failed to avoid tariffs imposed on the global economy, with the US president slapping a 10 per cent levies on all British exports to the United States.
Mr Trump - who imposed heavier tariffs on a raft of other countries, including a 20 per cent on EU imports - said they were “reciprocal” in response to measures put in place by other countries who had “looted, pillaged, raped, plundered” the US economy.
US President Donald Trump announced a range of international economic measures
In a statement published alongside the tariff announcement, the White House said: “The UK maintains non-science-based standards that severely restrict US exports of safe, high-quality beef and poultry products.”
It suggested that Britain’s ban on chlorinated chicken was among a range of “non-tariff barriers” that limit the US’s ability to trade.
The UK has long ruled out allowing imports of chlorine-washed chicken from the US due to health concerns, with Downing Street on Thursday reiterating its manifesto commitment to high food standards.
Asked whether the UK could allow imports of chlorine washed chicken in order to appease the US, the prime minister’s officials spokesperson said: “Our position on that is unchanged. You’ve got the manifesto commitment on food standards, which obviously remains.”
It comes after Rachel Reeves in November said the UK would not allow “British farmers to be undercut by different rules and regulations in other countries”.
Chlorine-washed chicken, or chlorinated chicken, refers to poultry products that have been washed or dipped in water containing chlorine dioxide in order to kill bacteria.
While evidence suggests chlorine itself is not harmful in small doses, critics argue the need to treat chicken with the chemical stems from poorer hygiene earlier on in the production process.
A 2014 report by US non-profit Consumer Reports found that 97 per cent of 300 American chicken breasts tested contained harmful bacteria, including Salmonella, campylobacter and E.Coli.
Around half of the chicken breasts tested also contained at least one type of bacteria that was resistant to three or more antibiotics.
Meanwhile, if you ate a large amount of chlorinated chicken – the equivalent to 5 per cent of your body weight in one day –you could be exposed to harmful levels of the chemical compound known as chlorate, according to the European Commission.
The last major polling done on the issue, conducted in 2020, revealed that 80 per cent of Britons are opposed to allowing imports to the UK, and the same proportion is also against allowing chicken products that have been farmed using hormones.
There is also growing pressure from the farming industry to rule out concessions on the issue, amid fears it could undercut British farmers and drive down food standards.
Nigel Farage admitted he would allow American chlorine-washed chicken to be sold in the UK as part of a free trade deal with the US. But Liz Webster, founder of Save British Farming, last week hit back, telling The Independent the British public would be “rightly appalled” and warned against trading away the UK’s high standards.
“A US trade deal would be devastating for British farming, food security, public health, animal welfare, and the environment”, she said.
“US agriculture is heavily subsidised and relies on intensive, industrial methods - including chemicals and practices banned in the UK. The British public is rightly appalled by chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef. We are an animal-loving nation that values high standards, and we must not trade them away.”
Previous prime ministers, including Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, were forced to rule out concessions on chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef in future trade deal talks with the US after pressure from the British public.
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has been contacted for comment.
