Andrew Clark is director of policy at the NFU. In his second blog following a recent visit to the States alongside NFU President Meurig Raymond, Andrew discusses NFU lobbying to open US beef and lamb export markets.
He writes:
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We stressed to APHIS that re-opening the US beef and lamb market to UK and EU imports was an important “confidence building measure” any future trade deal.
So it was good to hear that re-opening the States’ export market does not hinge on a possible TTIP deal (possibly several years off). However, this is not to say that the resumption of beef and lamb exports is a one sided trade. When pressed for a timescale it became clear that their negotiators are keen to see imports of US tallow being resumed in tandem.
We concluded that the UK needs to up its political and technical profile in Washington by meeting USDA and political contacts if rapid progress on UK lamb and beef access is to be achieved. And it is a prize to be sought given the USA has little domestic lamb production and much of this is met by New Zealand imports.
One of the last meetings we held in the Washington was with the American Farm Bureau and their President, Bob Stallman. His can-do attitude was refreshing. I asked him whether the US Government should set a growth plan for their industry. He replied “Hell no, I just want them to get off my back, let me get on with growing for the market!”