U.K. won’t ban import of food produced to lower farm standards

The U.K. government said it won’t ban food imports produced under inferior farming standards, saying the move would hurt farmers in developing countries.

Pressed by the opposition Labour Party on whether Britain will forbid the import of U.S. pork produced in conditions banned in the U.K., International Trade Secretary Liz Truss rejected a blanket ban.

Under World Trade Organization rules, “you have to apply the same standards to every country you are dealing with,” Truss said in the House of Commons on Thursday. “I want to make sure our farmers are able to continue with their high standards, but I don’t want to stop developing countries exporting their goods to us.”

The prospect of food produced under lower welfare and hygiene standards entering the U.K. as part of a trade deal with the U.S. is a contentious issue with voters, amid warnings that products such as chlorine-washed chicken could undercut local farmers.

A petition organized by the National Farmers Union, calling for all food eaten in the U.K. to be made to high standards, has drawn more than a million signatures.

Next week, the House of Commons will consider an amendment to the government’s Agriculture Bill, which calls for imports to meet the relevant domestic standards.