{"id":788520,"date":"2026-02-25T18:01:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T18:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/788520\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T18:01:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T18:01:14","slug":"uk-wants-right-to-ban-cruel-foods-in-brexit-trade-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/788520\/","title":{"rendered":"UK wants right to ban cruel foods in Brexit trade deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\t\t\t\tLabour seeks carve-out to avoid having to drop election pledge to ban foie gras imports\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

Ministers are still considering a ban on foie gras imports despite fears that a Brexit reset deal to ease food trade will force the Government to abandon its pledge to do so.<\/p>\n

At the general election, Labour promised to ban imports of foie gras to tackle animal cruelty. Its production has been banned in the UK for 20 years.<\/p>\n

But experts have warned that this is likely to be incompatible with Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s flagship deal to align with EU food rules<\/a> to ease cross-border trade and bring down supermarket prices.<\/p>\n

New FeatureIn ShortQuick Stories. Same trusted journalism.<\/p>\n

Foie gras, French for fatty liver, is mainly produced in the EU and its production from force-feeding ducks and geese is legal in the bloc, raising questions over whether Brussels would allow the UK to impose a ban on its import given it would hit producers on the continent.<\/p>\n

UK looking for trade deal \u2018carve-outs\u2019<\/p>\n

Since the election, the Government has therefore refused to recommit to banning foie gras imports but is known to be trying to secure a number of so-called carve outs from EU law<\/a> as it negotiates with Brussels on the deal. <\/p>\n

There has been intense pressure to secure a Swiss-style concession to allow the UK to set its own animal welfare standards, as Switzerland achieved in a deal on food trade with the EU.<\/p>\n

Now, in a private letter to a constituent shared exclusively with The i Paper, a Labour MP revealed that \u201cministers are continuing to consider the evidence and options in relation to foie gras\u201d when asked about the election pledge, suggesting the Government has not yet given up trying to secure a ban.<\/p>\n

The language from the MP, Liz Twist, matched that of Food Security Minister Dame Angela Eagle in a little-noticed parliamentary answer from October.<\/p>\n

Twist also said that \u201cministers have been clear with the EU about the importance of establishing arrangements which enable us to maintain high animal welfare standards\u201d.<\/p>\n

As well as foie gras, the UK is seeking a carve-out to maintain its ban on live animal exports, which the EU is expected to grant.<\/p>\n

If the EU does not agree to give the UK a concession out on foie gras, Labour will have to either break its election pledge or abandon the food deal that Starmer has placed at the centre of his reset.<\/p>\n

Gene-editing and oatcakes<\/p>\n

Britain is also believed to be asking to be allowed to maintain its laws allowing the gene-editing of crops, which is not fully legal in the EU.<\/p>\n

In addition, EU Relations Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds is reportedly pushing to save British oatcakes, which are threatened by an EU ban on a type of mould that appears on oats produced in damp coastal climates such as Britain\u2019s.<\/p>\n

In the UK and EU\u2019s framework Common Understanding agreement from last May, both sides agreed that London would be allowed \u201ca short list of limited exceptions to dynamic alignment\u201d with Brussels law, as long as they do not lead to lower standards or harm European exports to the UK.<\/p>\n

Abigail Penny, executive director of Animal Equality UK, which shared the letter with The i Paper, said: \u201cWhen it chooses to, the Government can quickly wave new policies through; but when it wants to bide time, ministers retreat into endless evidence-gathering. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s promising that the Government recognises that foie gras raises serious concerns, but it is at real risk of now running down the clock. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe proof is already clear as day: force-feeding for foie gras is unimaginably cruel, causing undeniable trauma to ducks and geese. That\u2019s why it is already a crime to produce it in the UK and why 90 per cent of the public wants to ban its import.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tYour next read<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\"Article <\/a><\/p>\n

Tashi Thomas, head of UK Policy at Animal Policy International, said: \u201cThe Government can\u2019t have it both ways. You can\u2019t promise to ban foie gras and fur sales, then quietly negotiate away the legal power to deliver on those promises. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s too cruel to produce here, it\u2019s too cruel to import.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs declined to comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Labour seeks carve-out to avoid having to drop election pledge to ban foie gras imports Ministers are still…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":788521,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5226],"tags":[24408,802,748,2000,299,5187,1699,4884,528,3027,1201,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-788520","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brexit","8":"tag-animal-welfare","9":"tag-brexit","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-eu","12":"tag-europe","13":"tag-european","14":"tag-european-union","15":"tag-great-britain","16":"tag-labour-party","17":"tag-politics-news","18":"tag-trade","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116132583217880888","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=788520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/788521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=788520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=788520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=788520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}