Canadian Beef Producers Request Termination of the Canada-UK Continuity Agreement

The Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) calls for the Government of Canada to initiate the termination of the Canada-UK Continuity Agreement, following the tabling of the UK Accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) legislation.

In July 2023, the Government of Canada announced the accession of the UK to the CPTPP agreement. CCA, our provincial members, and beef producers across the country urged Canada to “say no to a bad deal”. Since then, the UK has not made any effort to address the non-tariff barriers that are keeping Canadian beef out of the UK market. At the same time, UK beef imports into the Canadian market have increased from $16.6 million in 2023 to $42.5 million in 2024.

“We are calling on all Parliamentarians to stand up for Canadian beef producers,” said Tyler Fulton, President of CCA. “In these uncertain geopolitical times, we need every opportunity to diversify our markets.”

Given the Government’s recent tabling of the UK Accession legislation, CCA is requesting the Canadian Government to terminate the Continuity Agreement subject to Article VVII (4) for failing to meet commitments under Article IV (4) and Chapter 5 SPS. The continuity agreement between Canada and the UK was set up as a bridge after Brexit—with a commitment to conclude negotiations on a formal bilateral agreement within three years of the trade continuity agreement (TCA), which came into force April 1, 2021. As the UK walked away from bilateral negotiations, we are calling on the Government of Canada to terminate the TCA and ensure bilateral negations can begin again, where our barriers can be properly addressed.

The UK’s non-tariff barriers are not compliant with the World Trade Organization (WTO), who ruled against the EU Hormone Ban in December 1997, which the UK continues to apply to Canada. In addition, the UK refuses to recognize full systems approval for our meat hygiene system, which is recognized as world class. Within the continuity agreement, the chapter on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) maintains each Party’s right to take the SPS measures necessary to protect against risks to food safety, animal or plant life or health, while requirement that such measures be science-based, transparent, and applied only to the extent necessary to protect human, animal or plant life, so as not to create unnecessary and unjustifiable SPS-related trade restrictions.