UK-Canada Trade Talks Halted Over Beef and Cheese Disputes

The breakdown in negotiations marks the first time the UK has formally halted trade talks since leaving the EU, leading to less favourable trading terms.

• UK and Canada trade talks have been halted after nearly two years of negotiations, marking the first time the UK has formally halted talks with a trade partner since formally leaving the EU trading regime in 2021.
• The major sticking points in the deal are understood to be exports of British cheese and imports of beef from Canada to the UK.
• Canada's government had been facing political pressure from domestic cheese producers and had been pushing for the UK to relax a ban on hormone-treated beef, which its producers say effectively shuts them out of the British market.
• Higher import taxes on British cheese sold in Canada kicked in earlier this month, after the previous terms expired at the end of 2023.
• Britain’s trading terms with Canada will now be less favourable than they were when the UK was a member of the EU.

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