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The European Commission has reached a provisional agreement with the US on quotas for imports of hormone-untreated beef from the US to the EU. The EU plans to provide the US with a share of 35,000 tonnes out of a total annual volume of 45,000 tonnes, a new quota should be phased in over the next 7 years. The interim agreement must be approved by the EU Member States. Other producer countries, including Australia and Uruguay, for which the total quota of 45,000 tonnes used to apply and which now have to share the remaining 10,000 tonnes, have repeatedly opposed this step.

The UK should temporarily lower its tariffs for 87% of imported products to zero if it leaves the European Union with no deal, but some agricultural commodities or cars should not be subject to tariff reductions. Temporary tariff reductions should be valid for up to 12 months, with the aim to prevent significant price fluctuations in the market. Conversely, for the remaining 13% of imports, tariffs should be increased, such as beef, lamb, pork, poultry and certain dairy products.
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The UK will formally request a delay to its exit from the EU after British MPs overwhelmingly endorsed an extension today (14 March) in a vote whose result means Theresa May’s government has formally abandoned plans for the UK to leave the bloc on 29 March. The government motion specifically states UK Prime Minister Theresa May will seek a technical extension to Article 50, moving the deadline day to June 30, providing MPs pass her deal in parliament next week.

The Czech Republic is now officially regarded as having eradicated African swine fever, transmitted by wild boars, the European Commission said on Wednesday. State Veterinary Administration spokesman Petr Vorlíček said this makes the Czech Republic the first country in the world so far to have eradicated the disease on its territory. However, the disease continues to spread in Europe, including in neighbouring Poland, so the risk of in being reintroduced is high.

Theresa May’s Brexit deal suffered its second crushing defeat in parliament on Tuesday night, with MPs voting by a margin of 149 votes to reject her withdrawal agreement despite her insistence that she’d won legally binding guarantees from the EU. Speaking after the defeat, the prime minister announced that the Commons would vote tomorrow on whether MPs support leaving the EU without a deal on March 29.