Trade talks between the UK and Japan over a new post-Brexit trade deal have stalled after Liz Truss, the international trade secretary, insisted on including Stilton cheese in the negotiations.
The FT reported that both sides were close to an agreement in London last week, but Truss is holding out for a better deal for British food – with a particular desire to boost sales of blue cheese in Japan.
Truss is reportedly hoping a “symbolic Stilton cheese win” will demonstrate that Britain is able to secure a better deal than the one agreed between Brussels and Japan – talks which endured a similar ‘cars for cheese’ talks.
Cheese is a topic that has long been a passion of Truss. She shot to prominence on social media in 2014 after an intense speech to Conservative party conference in 2014, in which she declared that Britain’s trade deficit in cheese was “a disgrace”.
Blue cheese diplomacy
Under the EU’s deal with Japan, Japanese tariffs of 29 per cent on hard cheeses such as cheddar would be phased out by 2033. For fresh cheeses like mozzarella, there would be duty-free access by 2033 on an agreed quota.
Tokyo has repeatedly said that it cannot give Britain a better deal than the one agreed with the EU, a bloc of 27 countries with a population almost seven times bigger than the UK.
Britain sold £18 million of blue cheese – mainly Stilton – around the world last year, but only £102,000 worth to Japan, according to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board.
UK government figures suggest that a trade deal with Japan might add 0.07 per cent to Britain’s GDP in the long run, compared with the loss of 5 per cent of GDP growth associated with the UK leaving the EU single market and customs union.
Related: Gove denies £355m Brexit support for NI firms is admission of Irish Sea border
Since you are here
Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.
Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.
Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.
If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.
To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.
The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.
The shop can be found here.
You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .
