Post-Brexit trade talks with Canada paused amid row over beef and cheese

Negotiations to agree a post-Brexit trade deal between the UK and Canada have been paused amid an ongoing row over policies affecting beef and cheese.

The countries have been holding talks for the past two years, while widely continuing to trade on EU terms in the interim.

But this has allowed the UK to continue selling its cheese products without facing an import tax, which has caused anger among Canadian farmers.

Follow live: Sunak facing ‘serious’ plot to remove him

The agriculture sector also wants the UK to relax its ban on hormone-treated beef, but ministers are yet to move.

An end to the talks will mean stricter rules on trade between the states – with concerns the UK car industry will now face large import taxes if selling in Canada.

Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson said the UK had “no choice” in pausing the talks as ministers would “only negotiate a deal that delivers for the British people”.

But Labour’s shadow business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, said it was “another significant failure from the Conservatives to honour their promises”, adding: “This is another blow to the British economy because of Conservative incompetence. It is clear that they are unable to deliver what we need to get our economy growing.”

And the SNP’s trade spokesperson, Richard Thomson, said leaving the EU had “damaged the UK’s potential for global trade”, and the failure of securing trade deals was “yet another broken promise in broken, Brexit Britain”.

Posting on X, Canada’s trade minister, Mary Ng, said: “Our government will never agree to a deal that isn’t good for our workers, farmers and businesses.”

A spokesperson for Ms Ng also revealed to the BBC that she had expressed her “disappointment” to UK Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch over the end of the talks.

They added that the UK’s “decision to continue to maintain market access barriers for our agriculture industry and unwillingness to reach a mutual agreement has only stalled negotiations”.

But a UK government spokesperson said: “We have always said we will only negotiate trade deals that deliver for the British people.

“And we reserve the right to pause negotiations with any country if progress is not being made.

“We remain open to restarting talks with Canada in the future to build a stronger trading relationship that benefits businesses and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.”

The pause was welcomed by the president of the Nation Farmers’ Union (NFU), Minette Batters, who told the BBC it was “absolutely essential” the government sticks to its “red line” over the ban on hormone-treated beef.

She added: “We have already damaged our economy and agricultural sector by fully liberalising on trade deals with Australia and New Zealand. We had to take a strong line on this and I am pleased that we have otherwise we would drive changes that would never be rectified.”

Chair of the Business and Trade Select Committee, Liam Byrne, said the government had “learned a lesson – trade negotiations are tough, even with close friends like Canada”, adding: “There are difficult trade-offs and both sides have their minimum demands and red lines.

“Hubris has now collided with cold, hard reality. Having tried to run trade policy on bluff and bluster, the Government is waking up to the fact that we can’t just churn out free trade agreements on a conveyor belt – unless we keep caving in and just give other countries everything they want every time.”

The Commons Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, also criticised the government for failing to make a statement to parliament about the end of the talks.

Speaking in the Chamber, he said: “I will say it is amazing how quickly the government come to give good news. I just hope that they might reflect on briefing out overnight.

“As I say, I always believe this House should hear it first.”