US chlorinated chicken closer to being taken off menu in UK

MINISTERS have taken a “significant step” towards banning US chlorinated chicken imports after setting up an independent commission to advise them on a transatlantic trade deal.

Liz Truss, the International Trade Secretary, bowed to demands from the National Farmers’ Union to establish the body, in a move that also appears likely to delay the signing of a deal.

The NFU is pushing for the Trade and Agriculture Commission to be legally underpinned so ministers will be obliged to take its advice into account.

It has argued that countries including the US should be prevented from exporting animal products to the UK produced using methods banned here.

America allows chickens to be bred on battery farms that would not be allowed in Britain, meaning the carcasses must be disinfected with strong chemicals due to the high risk of disease. Ms Truss, who reportedly vetoed the idea of a commission in the past, said it would make recommendations for UK agricultural trade policy, higher animal welfare standards across the globe and export opportunities for UK farming.

In a letter to Minette Batters, the NFU president, Ms Truss said she wanted to ensure British farmers “do not face unfair competition and that their high animal welfare and production standards are not undermined”.

Ms Batters said the commission must not be “just a talking shop”.

With no deadline set for when it must report back to the Government, Whitehall sources appeared to concede that it could hold up trade talks with the US.

One Government source said: “We’ve always been clear that there is no deadline and we won’t be bounced into one.”