Sir Keir Starmer urged to stick to food standards red lines in future US negotiations

This includes access for 13,000 tonnes of US and British beef being exported tariff free to each country, with ministers claiming there has been no reduction of food standards.

It is understood that the deal does not allow for hormone-treated beef or chlorine washed chicken to be imported to the UK, however further negotiations are expected to take place.

David Skaith, the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, said he welcomed “the firm commitment to protecting our high food standards”.

"That must remain a red line in all future trade talks, and I’ll continue to press the government on it,” he said.

“Farmers across York and North Yorkshire deliver top-quality produce to the highest standards and deserve a fair deal that safeguards their livelihoods.

"I will scrutinise the detail as it emerges - particularly the terms of reciprocal market access for UK farmers - to make sure these promises are kept."

Neil Shand, chief executive of the National Beef Association, said it was likely the US-imported beef would be used in the services industry instead of being sold on supermarket shelves, as leading retailers “are not going to break rank” on British beef agreements.

“In volume terms, there is an argument that they have a bigger access or a larger quantity into our market,” he said, explaining the impact of the agreement.

“But in the overall scheme of things, 13,000 tonnes is not a huge amount of beef, if you consider last year we imported 241,000 tonnes.

“We’re not self-sufficient, and it is important that we are able to provide beef eating consumers with a product.”

However, Mr Shand added that the industry “remains very nervous” about the current Government’s policies.

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post from Sheffield Forgemasters, the Business Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, said it was in the UK’s “interest” to gain access to the US beef market.

“In relation to other trade agreements in the past, it is quite modest, so it is an increase, but it’s proportionate, it’s reciprocal and most of all it’s compliant with our existing food standards,” he said.

Mr Reynolds made the point that the trade deal with Australia, agreed by the previous Conservative government, will eventually allow 110,000 metric tonnes of beef into the UK market from Down Under.

The Business Secretary will now continue to negotiate with his US counterparts, something the National Farmers’ Union said is required to remove agricultural trade imbalances.

President Tom Bradshaw said: “Our biggest concern is that two agricultural sectors have been singled out to shoulder the heavy burden of the removal of tariffs for other industries in the economy.

“While we understand this, we also know that today is the start, not the end, of a process and UK agriculture cannot continue to shoulder such imbalances in future negotiations.”