UK halts trade negotiations with Canada over hormones in beef ban

 The UK has stopped its trade talks with Canada, after nearly two years of negotiations on a post-Brexit agreement.

Trade between the two countries currently takes place under the terms of a deal the UK rolled over from its time as an EU member.

A time-limited agreement allowed the UK to continue to sell cars and cheese without high import taxes.

But talks about extending these as part of a new deal have now broken down.

British car companies now face the prospect of higher tariffs - import charges - to sell into the Canadian market from the start of April.

Higher Canadian tariffs on British cheese had already kicked in earlier this month, after the previous terms expired at the end of 2023.

Talks between the two countries on reaching a bespoke agreement have been taking place since March 2022.

A UK government source said: "If Canada comes back to table with a serious offer and a desire to make progress we're all ears".

Total goods trade between the two countries was worth £19.2bn in 2020, according to the UK government, with UK imports from Canada worth £7.3bn and UK exports to Canada worth £11.8bn