In a speech in London, American Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, last night accused the EU of limiting the ‘role of science in assessing risk’ in trade policy. He was warning the UK not to be like the EU when seeking to negotiate a post-Brexit trade agreement with the US.

Say ‘hello’ to chlorinated chicken. Whatever Liam Fox says now, the reality is that any post-Brexit trade deal with the US will put Britain’s environmental regulations and standards in danger.

There can be few more risible sights than an official from the Trump administration claiming to base current US policy on science. Make no mistake, some politicians and newspapers in Britain have already been infected by the same structural hypocrisy.

If Brexit does go ahead, there will be a domestic battle royal over a trade deal with the US that will be about a lot more than the technicalities of ‘sanitary and phytosanitary’ rules.

Tom Burke

November 6th 2017.