The farm leader sent a clear message to the minister. The UK’s agricultural sector cannot absorb further losses from ongoing trade negotiations with the US.
As the next phase of UK-US trade talks begins, the government is being urged not to exchange UK agricultural interests in pursuit of wider tariff reductions.
Industry representatives warn that further concessions could seriously damage the already tense sector, while at the same time undermining the UK’s high standards of food safety, animal welfare and environmental protection.
The US is strongly strengthening its proposal that the US could demand additional access to the UK agriculture food market in exchange for reducing the 10% tariff introduced by President Trump on almost all imports earlier this year.
At the NFU emergency board, representatives selected from across the UK food production sector agreed that the trade set for May (increasing US market access) was already a hefty price to pay.
Board members concluded that UK agriculture cannot sustain further concessions without risking long-term viability.
NFU President Tom Bradshaw acknowledged the government’s desire to eliminate 10% tariffs on exports to the US, but he urged caution about potential costs.
“I understand that the UK government wants to eliminate 10% tariffs on all goods going to the US,” he said.
He emphasized that Washington is open about his ambitions to expand access to the UK market for American produce.
Bradshaw revealed that British agriculture is already doing its role, sacrificing access to the beef and ethanol markets to ensure tariff reductions in sectors such as automobiles and iron. “We have nothing more.”
He noted that as of June 30, new access was given to US beef and ethanol imports, and that the UK respected its commitment. However, the US has not yet travelled back and forth by referencing British beef to the market, as promised.
“We were unable to agree to a transaction that would remove these 10% tariffs,” he said. “We cannot continue to deflect critical sectors such as food production, which are not materialized and simply to bring us back to where we were before the ‘liberation day’. ”
Bradshaw warned that unless fair results are achieved, the government must be prepared to leave consultations entirely.
“Our government has always been standing firm to protect our most sensitive agriculture sector and protect our high welfare, environmental and food safety standards,” he said.
“We must continue by removing further agricultural concessions from the negotiation table, or we are taking a serious risk of undermining our ability to produce our own food and undermine our ability to undermine the value of food production.”
“And if the push sticks out and the US doesn’t accept this,” he concluded.
The warning comes amid growing concerns about the long-term resilience of UK agriculture following the recent trade agreement.
Since the Australian-New Zealand trade took effect, Australian beef imports have more than doubled, increasing from 1,917 tonnes in the first five months of 2024 to 3,920 tonnes in the same period in 2025, contributing to lower pressure on prices for UK beef producers.
