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Bloomberg
Britain won’t allow in imports of American chlorine-washed chicken as part of the post-Brexit trade deal it’s seeking with the US, the cabinet minister responsible for food and farming said.
“I’ve made it perfectly clear, and indeed this is something on which all members of the government are agreed, that we are not going to dilute our high animal-welfare standards or our high environmental standards in pursuit of any trade deal,†Environment Secretary Michael Gove told BBC Radio 4’s “Today†programme on Wednesday.
Discussion about whether the UK should accept US standards, under which chicken is washed during processing with antimicrobial rinses to remove harmful bacteria, has overshadowed a trip to Washington this week by British Trade Secretary Liam Fox, in which he’s attempting to prepare the ground for a trade accord.
The Daily Telegraph reported that the cabinet was split on the issue; Gove’s comments suggest a unified approach. Fox, questioned about the issue after a speech in Washington that day, said the UK media are “obsessed†by a “detail of the very end stage of one sector of the potential agreement.†PM Theresa May’s spokesman, James Slack, told reporters in London that they were “getting way ahead†of themselves.
Interviewed on BBC’s Television’s “Newsnight†programme, Fox took a different line from Gove, saying that while there’s “no health issue†with chlorine-washing, it’s “perfectly reasonable†to raise animal-welfare concerns.