Sir Keir Starmer has U-turned on Labour’s manifesto commitment to ban foie gras imports into Britain as part of efforts to reach a trade agreement with Brussels.
As Government continues Brexit betrayal negotiations with the EU, ministers acknowledged they could not obtain a special exemption from the bloc’s food standards, according to the Telegraph.
The delicacy, primarily manufactured in France through the force-feeding of ducks and geese to expand their livers, was targeted for an import ban under Labour’s 2024 election promises.
Brussels insisted Britain could not cherry-pick which products to accept, making clear that any future trade deal required the UK to abandon its stance against the controversial product created through the abuse of live animals.
EU regulations prevent member states from blocking each other’s food products based on animal welfare objections, leaving British negotiators without leverage to secure a carve-out.
The failure to win an exemption means foie gras will continue to be imported into the country, though the existing ban on producing the product domestically remains unaffected.
Britain outlawed the manufacture of foie gras on UK soil back in 2007, but imports from European producers have since continued.
The foie gras concession is among several compromises the outgoing Prime Minister has accepted in pursuit of improved trading arrangements with the bloc.
Beyond foie gras, a deal would ban British farmers from utilising various pesticides prohibited by the EU, while also compromising the future development of gene-edited crops in the UK.
These compromises form part of the broader “reset” negotiations pushed by Labour, aimed at reducing barriers to cross-Channel food and drink commerce through alignment with European standards.
The Government maintains the deal will deliver substantial benefits despite the trade-offs, projecting that cutting red tape on food and beverage trade could boost the British economy by as much as £5.1 billion annually.
Officials also anticipate the reset deal will help reduce supermarket prices for consumers.
