UK farmers worry being trampled by Donald Trump’s ‘one-way’ beef deal

American beef is set to flood the UK in a new trade deal, which British farmers warn will pile pressure on local agriculture with benefits ‘likely to be one way’.

The quota, part of a deal signed off by Donald Trump, will let 13,000 tons of beef be exported in both directions, which US groups say will be ‘a nice two-way’ with UK producers ‘benefiting equally’.

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) is also talking up the deal, said to be worth up to £70 million a year for UK farmers, claiming it was the only way to ‘gain preferential access to the US market’.

But some British farmers fear it could result in ‘one-way traffic’ due to the protectionist instincts of American consumers and the size of the US beef industry, which could squeeze out UK rivals.

High steaks: Joe Seels, with his Aberdeen Angus herd, says the US sector’s size makes it hard to compete

They also accuse US bosses of a ‘patronising’ and ‘outdated’ view of British meat, after some said their meat was more flavoursome and ‘marbled’ than its UK equivalent.

‘Their cost of production is lower than ours, so it’s much more likely to be one-way traffic,’ Joe Seels, a fifth-generation Yorkshire beef farmer, told The Mail on Sunday.

‘A lot of money and effort is thrown at the US consumer to promote home-grown beef. I don’t see us being able to compete.’

He said Britain should strike deals with countries that consume different cuts of meat, rather than competing with American beef farms to sell the same joints.

‘We produce some of the best quality beef in the world but the problem is that both countries use the same parts,’ he said. ‘There are Asian countries where we can get rid of sections of the animal we don’t eat, which would be advantageous to do business with.’

Herefordshire farmer Esther Rudge said while ‘trade is trade’, US and British consumers are both ‘protectionist’, so UK farmers would struggle to break into the bigger US market. She feared restaurants and shops could use US meat without fully explaining its origins to consumers too. ‘In the service industry it’s very hard to know where meat comes from. There needs to be better labelling, then the consumer can make the choice,’ she said, adding of US portrayals of British meat: ‘There are a lot of UK herds that produce marbled meat.’

But NFU Livestock Board chairman David Barton said the deal ‘opened the door for great British beef to reach US consumers’, adding: ‘Both markets are seeing a shortness of supply, and need confidence to increase herd numbers to meet growing demand.’ US exporters hope to grow UK sales from £31 million last year to up to £150 million a year under the deal. They have also stressed that US beef destined for Britain meets UK safety standards and cannot come from hormone-treated cows.

US producers plan to supply ‘high end’ UK restaurants and retailers such as Costco. In return, Dan Halstrom, head of the US Meat Export Federation, said British imports could address a shortage of ‘line cuts’ for processed products such as burgers – plus demand for ‘leaner’ meat.