WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced on May 8 a new trade agreement-in-principle between the United States and the United Kingdom, including beef market access.

Information from the White House stated the trade deal creates a “$5 billion opportunity” for new export markets for farmers, ranchers and products, including $700 million for ethanol exports and $250 million in other agricultural products such as beef.

According to details from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), the association supports the new trade deal and said it comes after years of hard work on an agreement with British industry stakeholders, Members of Parliament, the British Embassy, the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and other top British authorities.

“With this trade deal, President Trump has delivered a tremendous win for American family farmers and ranchers,” said Buck Wehrbein, president of NCBA. “For years, American cattle producers have seen the United Kingdom as an ideal partner for trade. Between our countries’ shared history, culture and their desire for high-quality American beef, securing a trade agreement is a natural step forward.”

Since the United Kingdom left the European Union in 2020, NCBA and other industry groups worked to secure access to a new market.

During March, Robby Kirland, a member of NCBA, testified to the US House Ways and Means Committee regarding American trade priorities, which included the United Kingdom.

NCBA added that it recently met with the current British Ambassador, Peter Mandelson.

Following the news, the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) also responded to the news of beef possibly moving over to the UK in the future.

“USMEF is pleased to see access for US beef prioritized in trade negotiations with the United Kingdom,” said Dan Halstrom, president and chief executive officer of USMEF. “We welcome the creation of a duty-free quota, as US beef has not had duty-free access to the UK since Brexit. However, US beef still faces numerous non-tariff barriers in the UK, and we are hopeful that these will also be addressed. We also see potential for US pork in the British market, and we would like to see the UK remove tariff and non-tariff barriers for pork as well.”

The National Chicken Council (NCC) supported the deal, but looked for chicken to be included in the final deal. 

“We support the administration’s goal of expanding export opportunities for US agricultural products,” said Tom Super, spokesperson for NCC, after the announcement. “We look forward to seeing the final details of the deal and continue to urge that US chicken be included, in this deal, and hopefully many more to come.”