The UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sajid Javid announced last week that the UK would not be bound by EU production standards post-Brexit.

The US has been encouraging the UK to reject EU standards in the use of growth hormones and lactic acid in carcase washing and to negotiate a trade deal with the US.

Any trade deal between the two would require the UK to give access for US agricultural produce and would likely include hormone-treated beef.

This would be a major departure from EU standards and EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan has made it clear that any future trade deal would require the UK to retain EU standards – ie excluding hormone treated beef.

With the UK effectively having to choose which trading partner to make a trade deal with, the risk of a no-deal Brexit at the end of this year increases.