The MP for South West Norfolk, and current Foreign Secretary took to Twitter to share the good news. She said: “Fantastic that the decades-long ban on British lamb to the US has been lifted.”
The Minister added: “The US is the world’s second-largest importer of lamb and this decision will give British farmers an £18m boost – supporting jobs and livelihoods in rural communities.”
The lifting of the ban also applies to European Union produced sheep and lamb, and has been lifted due to improved welfare conditions surrounding BSE.
Having imposed restrictions on UK red meat imports in the wake of the BSE crisis over 20 years ago, the US lifted its ban on UK beef last year in an agreement minister’s claimed would be worth £66m to the UK over five years.
Britain and the US remain locked in trade talk tensions following Brexit.
US President Joe Biden has snubbed the UK as a trade partner when Mr Johnson was told he would join the back of the queue to trade with the US until the situation in Northern Ireland is resolved.
The US has lifted a ban on European steel, yet maintained its high tariffs on British steel.
However, The US is already a significant UK trading partner, accounting for £1 in every £6 of British trade.
So the deal is unlikely to boost the UK economy by much. However, the deal could lead to more New Zealand lamb being sold in the UK.
As well as removing tariffs on goods such as clothing and machinery, the UK government says the deal will also cut red tape for businesses.
The Australia deal, announced on 15 June, was the first trade agreement negotiated from scratch by the UK since it left the EU – although it has not yet been signed off and implemented.
Whilst a deal with Japan was signed in October 2020 – the first that differed from an existing EU deal.
