UK envoy says new Pacific Rim trade deal quota can sidestep ongoing beef spat
OTTAWA — Britain’s envoy to Canada says an uproar in the Prairies over an expanded trade deal could be overcome by ranchers rejigging their beef operations to meet U.K. standards.
In an interview, British High Commissioner to Canada Susannah Goshko says Brits don’t want their government to budge on barring imports of beef raised with certain hormones.
But groups like the Canadian Cattle Association say that concern isn’t based in science, and that the U.K. is already exporting far more beef to Canada than trade in the other direction.
The industry wants Canada to block Britain’s entry to a massive Pacific Rim trade bloc and halt the ongoing negotiations for a separate U.K.-Canada trade deal until the Brits change their stance.