Latest news with #PeteNavarro
Daily Mail
16-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Waitrose rules out buying American beef and chicken as supermarket vows to 'stand with British farmers' following US trade deal
Waitrose has ruled out buying American beef and chicken amid fears the country could be flooded with foreign meat following Starmer's US trade deal. The supermarket giant made the commitment to 'stand with British farmers' after Sir Keir agreed to cut tariffs on US beef imports. Pete Navarro, Donald Trump's trade counsellor, last week branded European food standards a 'phoney tool used to suppress what is very fine American agricultural product'. The comments come despite fears there will be a watering down of food safety standards to allow products such as hormone-treated beef or chlorinated chicken into British stores - though the UK Government insists this will not be the case. British and US officials agreed to a deal that gives American farmers a quota to import 13,000 tonnes of beef that meets UK welfare standards. But supermarket bosses have expressed hesitation, pledging to maintain commitments to source products like beef from British cattle. Jake Pickering, head of agriculture at Waitrose, said today: 'We want to reassure Waitrose customers that we will never compromise on our number-one animal welfare standards or our long-standing commitment to British farming. 'All of our own-brand fresh beef, lamb, chicken, pork, eggs and fresh milk are sourced from British farmers to high welfare standards – and we have raised the bar for customers with the Better Chicken Commitment and introduction of our new welfare labelling. Sir Keir addressing staff at a Jaguar Land Rover car manufacturing plant in the West Midlands following the confirmation of his trade deal with US President Donald Trump The UK Government has been clear that controversial hormone-treated beef, linked to issues like early puberty in children and cancers, won't be included in the deal Waitrose has ruled out buying American beef and chicken amid fears the country could be flooded with the foreign meat following Starmer's US trade deal 'We're standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our farmers and backing better standards.' Tesco has also vowed not to source beef from the US, maintaining its policy of sourcing 100 per cent of the product from the UK and Ireland. Chief executive Ken Murphy said: 'We're not planning to change it.' Aldi and Co-op also gave their thoughts - saying respectively they would continue to source their 'core' range of meat from British farms, and remain committed to sourcing 100 per cent British fresh and frozen meat. As it stands, thousands of tonnes of American beef is on its way to the UK, with the agreement set to see enough meat shipped to serve one medium steak to every adult in the country - 13,000 tonnes in total. The UK Government has insisted controversial hormone-treated beef—common in US supermarkets—won't be part of the deal. These cattle are injected with growth hormones to speed up muscle growth and reduce the time to slaughter, making production faster and cheaper. But the practice has been linked to concerns such as early puberty in children and increased cancer risk in consumers. Brooke Rollins said she would like to see the UK and US more aligned on food standards regulations, during a visit to London following the new trade agreement between the two countries (file image) US secretary of agriculture Brooke Rollins said the new trade deal 'is going to exponentially increase our beef exports' to the UK However, Sir Keir insisted there will be no weakening of UK food standards on imports, meaning US-style chlorinated chickens will remain illegal in the UK Hormone-grown beef has been banned in the UK since 1989 after the EU declared it unsafe. Similarly, chicken 'cleaned' with chlorine, another of the Government's 'red line' products, will remain prohibited. However, experts have warned that border checks designed to catch beef-sellers trying to sneak such meat into the country may not be strong enough. About 80 per cent of all beef produced in the US comes from animals fed growth boosting hormones, according to the United States Cattlemen's Association. These hormones result in more meat per animal and an overall more profitable enterprise for the producer. But Brooke Rollins, Donald Trump's agricultural secretary, has insisted American meat is safe and good enough to be sold in Britain today. She added she would like to see the UK and US more aligned on food standards regulations, during a visit to London following the new trade agreement between the two countries. Ms Rollins said she was 'proud' of US producers and suggested the US market is starting to move away from hormone-treated beef. The new US-UK trade deal helps overturn or reduce many of the tariffs Mr Trump unleashed on so-called 'Liberation Day' on April 2, 2025 UK ministers said there will be no downgrade in British food standards, which have been a significant barrier to entry for US-reared meat, and have insisted imports of hormone-treated beef and chlorinated chicken would remain illegal (file image) 'We have decades of research that show that the beef produced in America whether it is hormone or hormone-free is entirely safe and we believe it is one of the crown jewels of our American agricultural industry,' she said. She added that only 5 per cent of US chicken is treated with chlorine. 'I think that is a narrative in your country that perhaps we have not done a good enough job pushing back on, so I think that's an important myth to dispel,' she continued. Agriculture is a key part of the deal, announced by Mr Starmer and Mr Trump last week, which sees tariffs reduced on US products including beef and ethanol in return for moves that help British cars and steel. As the first country to sign a deal of this sort with the US, Sir Keir called it a 'fantastic, historic' day, as he joined the Oval Office news conference via phone. However, the Tories have accused him of 'shafting Britain' and allowing the UK to be steamrolled by Trump's team. The results of the deal are likely to be far-reaching, saving jobs in the beleaguered car and steel industries but offering US farmers far greater access to UK markets on meat and ethanol. Despite the health concerns, the new reciprocal market access on beef is being presented as a win-win for both countries, with UK farmers being given a quota for 13,000 metric tonnes. US secretary of agriculture Brooke Rollins said at the Oval Office press conference that this deal 'is going to exponentially increase our beef exports'.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Faisal Islam: US and China step back from beyond brink
It's a ceasefire on the main front of the global trade war. Global markets are rising again, and container ships can set sail across the Pacific. The progress made in US-China talks in Switzerland was far greater than expected. The prohibitive triple-digit tariffs are now down to just moderately high levels, at least for three months. The details were a little complicated, perhaps by design to enable both sides to save face. The bottom line is this: the retaliatory tit-for-tat rise in tariff rates has been cancelled, and the so-called "reciprocal" tariff rate of 34% is lowered for at least 90 days to 10%. The rates applying now are 30% from the US (which includes an existing 20% component aimed at curbing the illegal trade in fentanyl), and 10% from China. The world's two biggest economies have stepped back from beyond the brink. Live: Latest updates on US-China agreement Markets rise as US and China agree to slash tariffs What does the US-China deal mean? China has come to the table - but this fight is far from over Who blinked first? The row-back started a month ago, as investors sold US government debt aggressively after the reciprocal tariff rates were first revealed. The ascent of the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to lead trade negotiations was the start of the process. Trade hardliner Pete Navarro has been clearly sidelined. It was Bessent who was in Switzerland with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng at the weekend. The US pushed back strongly against the idea of countries retaliating against their tariffs. China did the most and currently has the same baseline 10% tariff as the rest of the world. So the US now has the problem. Why would any ally who did not retaliate expect to get worse than China, who did? There was also nothing agreed on the longer-term challenges to the relationship, for example Chinese exchange rate policy. So this does also affect the rest of the world profoundly. In the first instance this ceasefire is much better news than expected. It is not an end to the trade war, but it is a very significant truce. China was facing a 2008-style factory shutdown and potential significant unemployment. It should be averted now. At these tariff levels, prices will go up somewhat, but the trade will flow. Some uncertainty will remain, given the temporary nature of some of this. The toy shop owner I met last month in Arizona, who will not publish prices in her Christmas catalogues, may still have that uncertainty, but probably can now count on the container ships sailing with her products onboard. At the time the retaliatory tariffs were released, the US administration strongly suggested that the buyer countries always win trade wars. The seller or deficit countries such as China, need their buyer more than the other way round. This has not proven to be the case. The potential financial market turmoil proved to be an equal and opposite source of pressure on the US. The situation has improved, but the situation is far from over. And even the trade shock we have seen so far will have consequences. China will attempt to project to the rest of the world that it is now the more reliable economic partner. The US will have to decide how much it can contain China's rise in advanced technology, from microchips to electric vehicles to artificial intelligence. It may find it has some patching up to do with the rest of the world too. US and China agree to slash tariffs as trade war eases What does the US-China tariff deal mean? Hormone-treated beef will not enter UK after US deal, says government
BBC News
12-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Faisal Islam: US and China step back from brink
It's a ceasefire on the main front of the global trade war. Global markets are rising again, and container ships can set sail across the progress made in US-China talks in Switzerland was far greater than expected. The prohibitive triple-digit tariffs are now down to just moderately high levels, at least for three details were a little complicated, perhaps by design to enable both sides to save bottom line is this: the retaliatory tit-for-tat rise in tariff rates has been cancelled, and the so-called "reciprocal" tariff rate of 34% is lowered for at least 90 days to 10%. The rates applying now are 30% from the US (which includes an existing 20% component aimed at curbing the illegal trade in fentanyl), and 10% from China. The world's two biggest economies have stepped back from beyond the brink. Live: Latest updates on US-China agreementMarkets rise as US and China agree to slash tariffsWhat does the US-China deal mean?China has come to the table - but this fight is far from over Who blinked first? The row-back started a month ago, as investors sold US government debt aggressively after the reciprocal tariff rates were first ascent of the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to lead trade negotiations was the start of the process. Trade hardliner Pete Navarro has been clearly sidelined. It was Bessent who was in Switzerland with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng at the US pushed back strongly against the idea of countries retaliating against their tariffs. China did the most and currently has the same baseline 10% tariff as the rest of the the US now has the problem. Why would any ally who did not retaliate expect to get worse than China, who did?There was also nothing agreed on the longer-term challenges to the relationship, for example Chinese exchange rate this does also affect the rest of the world profoundly. In the first instance this ceasefire is much better news than expected. It is not an end to the trade war, but it is a very significant was facing a 2008-style factory shutdown and potential significant unemployment. It should be averted these tariff levels, prices will go up somewhat, but the trade will flow. Some uncertainty will remain, given the temporary nature of some of this. The toy shop owner I met last month in Arizona, who will not publish prices in her Christmas catalogues, may still have that uncertainty, but probably can now count on the container ships sailing with her products the time the retaliatory tariffs were released, the US administration strongly suggested that the buyer countries always win trade wars. The seller or deficit countries such as China, need their buyer more than the other way round. This has not proven to be the case. The potential financial market turmoil proved to be an equal and opposite source of pressure on the situation has improved, but the situation is far from over. And even the trade shock we have seen so far will have consequences. China will attempt to project to the rest of the world that it is now the more reliable economic partner. The US will have to decide how much it can contain China's rise in advanced technology, from microchips to electric vehicles to artificial intelligence. It may find it has some patching up to do with the rest of the world too.
Telegraph
07-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
China agrees to US trade talks
China has agreed to the first major talks with the US since Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs and launched a global trade war. Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, and Jamieson Greer, the US trade representative, will meet with their counterparts in Geneva this weekend. It is a move Mr Bessent has described as a 'de-escalation' amid growing market worry over the impact of the tariffs on the world economy, and working Americans. Asked by the House Financial Services Committee whether trade negotiations with China were advanced, Mr Bessent said: 'On Saturday we will begin, which I believe is the opposite of advanced.' He added Pete Navarro, the White House trade adviser behind Mr Trump's tariffs, would not be present for the negotiations. Pressed for details on other trade deals, the treasury secretary said revealing such information would be 'detrimental' to the US but claimed 'some of them are quite advanced'. He added that it was 'time for China to graduate from developing country status' in the eyes of international financial institutions including the IMF and World Bank. No country has been hit harder by Mr Trump's trade war than China, the world's biggest exporter and second largest economy. When Mr Trump announced his 'liberation day' tariffs on April 2, China retaliated with tariffs of its own, a move that Mr Trump called 'disrespectful'. The tit-for-tat tariffs have been mounting since then, with the US levies against China now at 145 per cent and China tariffs on the US at 125 per cent. On Wednesday, JD Vance, the vice-president, suggested the Chinese population would have to 'consume' rising costs in order to 'rebalance' global trade. 'We cannot absorb hundreds of billions of dollars, close to a trillion dollars per year and annual surplus, most of it coming from the People's Republic of China,' Mr Vance said. 'And what that's going to mean in the rebalancing is that we think that the PRC is going to have to, frankly, let their own population consume a little bit more they've held consumption levels down in order to increase these massive exports.' Mr Trump had claimed previously that the US and China were holding negotiations on lowering tariffs, which Beijing has denied, saying Trump must first lower his stiff tariffs. The Chinese Commerce Ministry on Tuesday confirmed the meeting between its vice premier and Bessent in Switzerland. 'The Chinese side carefully evaluated the information from the US side and decided to agree to have contact with the US side after fully considering global expectations, Chinese interests and calls from US businesses and consumers,' said a ministry spokesperson. The spokesperson said China would not 'sacrifice its principles or global equity or justice in seeking any agreement.'
