British cheese producers have been left furious after Canadian dairy farmers pressured Justin Trudeau to walk away from trade talks. An extension of the EU terms of trade on cheese exports will expire at the end of this month.
After leaving the EU, an interim agreement kept tariff-free British cheese on Canadian shelves for three years. However, negotiations on a longer-term bilateral Brexit trade deal have all but ground to a halt.
Many UK cheese makers will now face 245 percent duty from January 1, while EU producers still maintain tariff-free exports.
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UK exporters shipped £18.7m worth of cheese to Canada in 2022. British exporters now fear that French, German or Dutch cheese could fill the gaps British products leave on Canadian shelves.
Darren Larvin, the managing director of Coombe Castle International, based in Wiltshire, said: “Something else will replace it, because retailers have to plan for the future. It’s sad.”
British cheese exports to Canada will default to the non-EU tariff-free quota – but 95 percent is already covered by Norwegian and Swiss producers. Exports to Canada accounted for a third of Coombe Castle’s turnover.
Mr Larvin said: “Essentially, we’re going to fall off the edge of a cliff at the end of this year. The door remains open, but it is the team’s estimation that Canada doesn’t want a deal on cheese now.”
Gareth Thomas, Labour’s shadow trade minister, criticised Rishi Sunak’s Government for abandoning British farmers.
He said: “It is unacceptable that British cheese exporters are facing unfair price hikes because the government is distracted by its own endless chaos. Many will be wondering why on Earth ministers agreed these cliff edges in the UK-Canada trade agreement in the first place.
“This is just the latest in a series of missteps on trade. The government have given away far too much for far too little in trade negotiations, have axed support to businesses to capitalise on trade deals and now seem unable to stop new tariffs hitting top British exporters.”
Many British diary businesses blame their Canadian counterparts.
In 2022, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised dairy farmers that Canada’s domestic market would not be sold off in future trade talks.
Former Dairy Farmers of Canada president Pierre Lampro said: “For dairy farmers, a promise made is a promise kept and we expect the same from our government.
“The Canadian dairy industry must not be further penalised by the UK decision.
“New access to the Canadian dairy sector should remain off the negotiation table.”
Dairy farmers in Canada demanded the promise, after claiming that Canada had already outsourced 18 percent of its market to foreign producers.
