Originally shared on October 23, 2025 on RealAgriculture by RealAgriculture News Team.
he Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) is calling on the federal government to begin terminating the Canada-UK Continuity Agreement, following the tabling of legislation for the United Kingdom’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
In July 2023, when the government announced the UK’s accession, the CCA, its provincial members, and beef producers across the country urged Canada to “say no to a bad deal.” The organization says the UK has not taken steps to address non-tariff barriers that continue to block Canadian beef exports, while imports of UK beef into Canada have risen 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 CCA president Tyler Fulton. “In these uncertain geopolitical times, we need every opportunity to diversify our markets.”
The continuity agreement, established in 2021 after Brexit, was designed as a bridge until a formal bilateral deal could be concluded within three years. The CCA says that the UK has not met its commitments under the agreement’s sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) provisions, which require science-based and transparent trade measures. As a result, the organization highlights that long-standing market access issues persist — including non-tariff barriers the World Trade Organization has ruled against, such as the hormone ban, and the UK’s continued refusal to recognize Canada’s meat hygiene system.
The CCA says meaningful, rules-based trade with the UK will require ending the current continuity agreement and restarting bilateral negotiations.
There have been no Canadian beef exports to the UK in 2024 or so far in 2025, while UK beef imports rose 156 per cent in 2024 and are up 19 per cent to date in 2025.
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