A game of chlorinated chicken: What is the price of a US-UK trade deal?
An economic deal between the UK and the US could be just weeks away.
The Trump administration has made sweeping promises of a “90 deals in 90 days” package of bespoke arrangements.
While deals with India, Japan and South Korea are expected to be done first, the UK is understood to be not far behind in the queue.
Sir Keir Starmer will be hoping that a deal could allow the UK to wriggle out of the baseline 10 per cent tariffs imposed on all goods, and the 25 per cent levy on steel, aluminium and automotive imports.
The government is reportedly wargaming concessions that can be made to appease the Trump team, including possible changes to the digital services tax (DST).
Reynolds’ red lines
A key calculation for the government will be to decide where to draw its red lines, and so far the issue of poultry imports looks like a sticky one.
Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds has said that any reduction in food standards is a red line for negotiators.
The media debate around chlorinated chicken featured heavily in the post-Brexit referendum discussions around a trade deal with the US, though trade talks ultimately stalled in Trump’s term and ground to a halt under President Biden.
Back in 2017, the issue caused a split in then-PM Theresa May’s cabinet, with Liam Fox – the first UK international trade secretary – reportedly signalling that he was open to allowing the chickens into the UK.
According to a report from free-market lobby group the Adam Smith Institute from back in the first Trump term, we “shouldn’t give a cluck” about chlorine and should embrace a relaxing of rules.
The think tank said that Americans eat 156m of the chemical rinsed birds a week, and that a consumer would need to eat five per cent of their bodyweight in chlorinated chicken to face health risks.
Also, the group points out that rates of salmonella are considerably lower in poultry treated under American regulations.
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs advice at the time was that “no health concerns” were associated with chlorinated chicken.
However, a policy briefing from the Centre for Food Policy – delivered back in 2019 when the risk of a no-deal Brexit appeared substantial – posited that the chemical wash merely masks pathogens on the birds rather than eliminating them.
The issue remains emotive and politically potent, and any push towards a relaxation in food standards could bring this Brexit-era debate back into the headlines.