The event, organised by NFU economist Lucia Zitti, was a chance for various NFU sector advisers to explain how the proposed partnership could help British farmers and growers take advantage of lucrative markets in the United States.
This meeting was particularly crucial because the delegates invited on the day will have an influence on the US Congress, which like our own European Parliament will have a final say on the agreement.
NFU economist Lucia Zitti said: “This has the potential to be an incredibly important partnership between Europe and the US, and with it comes a number of opportunities and threats.
“This was an excellent opportunity for our sectors, and our President Meurig Raymond, to hear their views and get ours across.
“We see opportunities for UK businesses to grow but we are aware that the hardest part of the negotiations will be on regulatory issues and how to reconcile the differences in production methods between the EU and US.”
The EU negotiators have reiterated that a TTIP agreement will not lower our standards or compromise our food safety. In particular, they have guaranteed that issues like hormone-treated beef and chlorinated chicken are not up for negotiation.
However, our main concerns rely on the fact that US producers have significant cost of production advantages over EU farmers due to lower regulatory burdens, namely animal welfare, animal traceability, the use of hormones, GM, access to plant protection products etc.
Therefore we have to make sure that negotiators take those sensitivities into consideration in order to reach a balanced and fair outcome.