Canada’s beef cattle sector is already calling the negotiations that allow the United Kingdom to join Canada and its 10 partner nations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, unjust.

The trade pact’s accession working group claims that the U.K. “has provided commercially meaningful market access offers of the highest standard on goods, services, investment, financial services, government procurement, state-owned enterprises and temporary entry for business persons.”

The Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, in a 2021 submission for federal consultations on the matter, warned its member groups “cannot support an outcome where U.K. beef continues to have unlimited access to the Canadian market while Canadian beef is subject to a tariff rate quota.”

The Canadian Cattle Association, a CAFTA member, says it’s disappointed with a market access agreement that will form the basis for the U.K. to join CPTPP without achieving viable access for Canadian beef to the U.K.