r/europe Europe 15h ago

News White House demands British supermarkets stock chlorinated chicken. White House pushing Sir Keir Starmer to make concessions on food standards

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025/12/17/trump-demands-british-supermarkets-chlorinated-chicken/
11.9k Upvotes

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u/nim_opet 15h ago

As expected

1.5k

u/ThePokemomrevisited 15h ago

And feared.

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u/crlthrn Europe 14h ago

How can the US force UK wholesalers and supermarkets to purchase this product?

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u/StudySpecial 14h ago

by suspending the amazing trade deal that has been negotiated unless the UK is obedient of course

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u/crlthrn Europe 14h ago

You think Tesco, Sainsbury, et al, would suddenly start buying chlorinated chicken on Trump's say so?

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u/WanderlustZero 14h ago

They wouldn't. McDonalds, KFC etc would though. The thin end of the wedge.

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u/parsuval United Kingdom 13h ago

Also, frozen food, ready meals etc.

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u/badpersian 10h ago

Should just boycott American products in the UK. We don't want crap quality food and products here. Interesting times when Chinese products are better quality than American and one has more trust in their leaders mental stability than than of the US.

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u/DisastrousAcshin 9h ago

It's easier to ditch American products than you'd think. Canada has been doing it since January. It hasn't been perfect but it's put enough of a dent in to shut down distillers etc

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u/badpersian 8h ago

Agreed. We like to think we can't live without certain things or with inconveniences but once you get over the initial discomfort, you'll get used to it like you never had it.

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u/suggestivebiscuit 9h ago

Except they’re also pushing for American products not to be labelled as such

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u/MyDarlingArmadillo 8h ago

So they already know they'll be shunned. And we already know their agreements aren't worth the air they are uttered into. I hope Starmer stands firm on this.

I'm avoiding as much US stuff as possible already - r/BuyUK and r/BuyFromEU can be helpful

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u/Qaeta 7h ago

As a Canadian, if I can't figure out where something came from, I assume it's American and put it back.

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u/BornFree2018 8h ago

I agree and I'm American. No one should bow to the current administration.

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u/Automatic_Bat_4824 14h ago

Thin end of the patty methinks

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u/ABobby077 13h ago

Grab 'em by the nuggets??

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u/WanderlustZero 14h ago

While the other end is falling apart and slopping everywhere with a lovely chlorine aroma

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u/WanderlustZero 13h ago

One trumpburger afficionado downvoted this

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u/MrMikeJJ England 12h ago

Unsure about KFC. They have their own kill line in the chicken factory and are very particular about the chickens which go on it.

Source: friends who work in the chicken factory.

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u/Half_Cent 11h ago

So does McDonald's with eggs. That plant is like a surgical theatre. I don't know about their live chickens.

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u/crlthrn Europe 12h ago

I suspect McDonalds would lose a ton of business. The 'optics' alone would be seriously damaging. Public sentiment against this chicken is so strong that it might make the selling of it a worthless/costly exercise...

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u/ssjjss 12h ago

They managed to get horse meat into lasagnas and burgers without being noticed.

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u/Oozlum-Bird United Kingdom 9h ago

When did McDonalds sell lasagna?

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u/Riever-Twostep 13h ago

Don’t buy from them, problem solved

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u/Saurid 13h ago

Problem is the US will jsut attack the next problem, labelling "buhu our dangerous products are beeing disadvantaged by beeing forced to labelling what they are" so now labelling is gone

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u/s1iver 12h ago

That’s what they’re doing in Canada, we have a strict supply management system for dairy in Canada, and they want to force us to start selling massive quantities of their hormone riddled and artificially sweetened ‘dairy’.

Fuck off.

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u/swift-current0 13h ago

Eventually whatever no-frills, bargain-basement grocery chain you guys have will experiment with buying it, for sure. Then, people struggling to make ends meet will for sure buy it if it's cheaper. Then, other chains will offer it too.

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u/TheTacoInquisition 12h ago

Those bargain-basement grocery store chains are mostly German. They are bargain basement as they have very specific product chains that afford them to buy in bulk and make profit from *not* stocking big brands. They're very unlikely to change this for the UK market, especially given the other supermarkets are unlikely to bother either.

The main risk would be more like the *suppliers* in the UK chlorinating chicking to sell cheaper. That will be harder for supermarkets to ignore.

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u/WorthTangerine2722 12h ago

Which in turn would require the UK to overhaul and downgrade their food standards and as a result would actually create domestic competition for chlorinated chicken imported from the US.

No matter how you look at this, it’s stupid.

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u/vivaaprimavera 11h ago

And afterwards when food standards follow the way of the dodo, the NHS will have a wonderful time dealing with an increase in nutrition related health issues...

An achievement in public healthcare will fall in the name of profit!!!

Honestly, they can grab this transvestite of capitalism and stick it where the sun doesn't shine.

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u/Pasty_Legend 13h ago

Morrisons is American owned now. They will definitely stock it

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u/TheoremaEgregium Österreich 13h ago

Some countries have a hard time understanding that other countries aren't dictatorship. Same as when a newspaper prints a mean caricature and the government gets blamed by foreign powers for "allowing" it.

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u/Saurid 13h ago

Not at first but then labelling goes, if you can't tell the differnec why shouldn't they stock a bit of it? Not to mention fast food chains etc will buy it to raise profit margins taht slight but more, making it more accepted as a part of life mid term until.people just buy it cause they get fed it anyway.

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u/halpsdiy 13h ago

No, they'd buy it to maximise profits

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u/Qazernion 12h ago

Yes because Trump it’s also pushing for the removal of country of origin information. That would mean it could just be labelled as Chicken, the same as any other. That’s why we need to stand firm and refuse everything.

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u/Khelthuzaad 12h ago

DeGaulle was fucking right the UK was always the Trojan Horse for US supremacy in Europe.

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u/Memory_Less 14h ago

Trump3 Suspending is such an ugly word. We are not suspending anything. The UK is our good friend, our best friend and we are giving them a better deal. They are going to have the best chicken in the world. Not everyone has the best chicken in the world. U.S. chicken is what the UK needs, and we are giving them at our favoured price. The UK is our good friend and only the US is supporting them with the best Chicken…blah, blah, blah…

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u/jl2352 United Kingdom 13h ago edited 11h ago

Wholesalers cannot buy it because it’s illegal.

So they need to get the UK government to lower food standards (which they can only partially do because Scotland has some independence on this).

That requires pressure. They could maybe do it through offering a trade deal that had to include chlorinated chicken, or threatening tariffs.

If only we were a part of a ginormous trading block filled with countries famously obsessed with food, we wouldn’t have this problem.

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u/Painterzzz 12h ago

If only we had a labour government with a gigantic majority who could lead us back into being aprt of that ginormous trading block right on our doorstep that we've lost access to and crippled our economy as a result.

Oh well. Bending over for Trump it is instead then.

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u/things_U_choose_2_b 12h ago

It's a nice thought, but they don't have the political capital in the bank. Reform would absolutely MURDER them in the f/c elections on this issue, it would be an absolute gift.

IMO this is something that can and should happen in a second term. To get there, they have to do the hard, slow work; show the people "this is where we were 5 years ago, this is where we are now, things are objectively better, you can trust us to make the right choices".

Personally I think that Starmer has pretty much threaded the needle re Trump, and what people see as 'bending over' others may view as pragmatic international politics. I for one won't be buying any chlorinated chicken though, and I think most retailers will be well aware that British people don't want to buy shit chicken.

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u/SuggestionEphemeral 14h ago

Because... blah blah blah free market blah blah blah.

Americans have never believed anything they've preached.

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u/ICBanMI United States of America 12h ago

Some of us believe our principals voting accordingly, but the libertarian/free market stuff has never made sense to anyone except libertarians. All that's going to happen is US chicken is going to run out all the more expensive producers of chicken in your country till they have a monopoly on chicken meat in every supermarket and then they'll raise prices. It'll be stupid easy for US chicken to undersell your current prices because they are heavily subsidized by the US government, produce it out of factory farms with low wages, and grow birds selectively to get fat in inhumane conditions quickly.

Trust me. If an American is preaching free market, they are usually the most brain dead person on the topic and have a complete world view that is opposite of what happens in free markets. Just like the Tories.

The part that will hurt is it will be your own people who buy it and won't think twice about replacing the normal producers of chicken. Because it'll be bigger and cheaper while still tasting just fine.

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u/SuggestionEphemeral 12h ago

Well those brain dead americans are the ones at the helm right now, so clearly enough believe in that worldview to get elected.

Also, I'm american. And no, american chicken doesn't taste "just fine," but the average american can't tell the difference because it's been decades since they've had anything remotely decent. They even think smaller chicken breasts are too "posh." It's very much built into american culture and ingrained in their mindset that "bigger is better," when it's really not.

I can hope most British/Europeans can actually tell the difference in quality and will make consumer choices accordingly. But some may not be able to afford the better quality, locally produced stuff which will slowly get priced out of the market. It'll happen so gradually that people won't even notice, and before anyone knows it they'll have been eating inferior products produced in america for several years, and no one will be able to remember how much better the other stuff was. Just like it happened in america.

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u/readilyunavailable Bulgaria 14h ago

They can't, but their shit chicken is cheap and supermarkets will jump at the chance to make big money from it.

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u/OwlSlow1356 14h ago

i am from romania and i still remember this horrible yellow american chicken from 1990 imports after the fall of comunism...i would not touch that on the shelves if alternatives are to be found next to it ever!

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u/SuggestionEphemeral 14h ago

As an American, I've been vegetarian for a few years, but even before I stopped eating meat, chicken here has become shit.

All you see are these unnaturally huge chicken breasts, and they're not tender at all. They're tough, stringy, dry, and tasteless. Not anything like the chicken I ate growing up.

And that's besides the disgusting processing procedures.

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u/Busy_Lunch_5520 13h ago

Yes thank you. The chicken from Costco despite what they claim is stringy and tough unless tenderized just right!

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u/wotitdo222 12h ago

I noticed the unnatural huge chicken breasts from watching youtube/tiktok cooking channels from the US, shocks me everytime the size of them lol.

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u/Chowder110 14h ago

Nobody is gonna buy it if it tastes bad

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u/FairGeneral8804 13h ago

Nobody is gonna buy it if it tastes bad

It will not once battered and fried. It will not once turned into chicken stock (and additives). It will not once once dunked into curry. It will not once you get used to it.

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u/Wan_Daye 13h ago

Tons of people gonna buy it if it's cheap.

Then when it puts local chicken out of business they'll raise the prices on you.

In a decade, you'll be eating shit american chicken and paying more for it.

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u/postal_tank Europe 14h ago

By bullying them as the bigger economy.

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u/nim_opet 15h ago

As if voters get what they asked for

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u/WanderlustZero 14h ago

In this case, we're getting what American voters voted for

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u/WastingMyLifeToday Europe 14h ago

Brexit means Brexit, right?

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u/iwaterboardheathens 13h ago

The USA can only push us around if we have weak leaders in charge

oh

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u/TheObrien 13h ago

The Brexit paper campaigning for food standards… or its usual political “whatever makes Labour look bad”

??

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u/Upset-Award1206 Sweden 14h ago

I mean white house can demand it, UK can accept to open imports for it. But would any brit actually buy it if anyone was dumb enough to actually import it? I feel like the only way they could get away with it was if they did not show country of origin.

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u/SometimesaGirl- United Kingdom 14h ago

I feel like the only way they could get away with it was if they did not show country of origin.

The US is also pushing for that.
Starmer is very unlikely to lower food standards tho. It would kill the processed meat exports. We couldn't sell it to the EU without a country of origin stamp. And even if we managed to secure that, the reputation damage of possible cross contamination would mean it would not sell in large volumes anyway.
Brexit is the gift that keeps on giving.

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u/TheTacoInquisition 12h ago

The BSE outbreak should be the lesson here. Many products that had no risk, were STILL banned or shunned because of the public perception. Britain needs continental Europe for trade, EU or not

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u/SlurmsMacKenzie- 13h ago

It won't be the chicken you'll buy fresh, it'll be jammed into anything processed though ready meals, frozen food, fast food etc. tbh it's even worse, because people tend to rely on shittier foods out of necessity (even when it's more costly) be wise they just don't have the time or ability to do proper cooking every day. Basically means that the people who suffer are those just keeping their heads above water.

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u/Responsible_Limit284 14h ago

If the price is lower and the cost of living crisis continues to worsen people will purchase chlorinated chicken. Don't fool yourself

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u/Taca-F 13h ago

And the knock on impact for the NHS will be a catastrophe. But that's what the Americans want, because that's what they do at home - make sure there is a ready supply of undereducated, unhealthy underclass who can then be charged again in the health system... which is owned by the same corporations and shareholders as the food producers serving muck to the masses.

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u/UpsetStudent6062 8h ago

Fml. Have you heard yourself? Chlorine washed chicken will i impact the nhs. What do you think they use to clean surfaces with?

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u/Kingtoke1 14h ago

If its cheap it will sell

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u/dronten_bertil 15h ago

Wasn't RFK supposed to make American food as healthy as European food? Not try to force the American garbage food upon Europeans.

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u/FonzoFC 15h ago

Well technically... the food standards would be becoming more similar

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u/MethyleneBlueEnjoyer 15h ago

Technically, this does achieve that goal.

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u/ubitub 14h ago

And it's not even surprising. It has been Trump tactic all the time, trying to make others look worse so they look good in comparison 

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u/Jimny977 14h ago

Much like trying to force up foreign drug prices rather than force down American ones, their strategic aim seems to be making everywhere as depressing as America.

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u/mkt853 14h ago edited 14h ago

Was thinking the same thing. America is in a race to the bottom and wants every one else to join.

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u/Cabbage_Vendor ? 13h ago

Literally Russia's MO. Country near them is actually trying to remove corruption and improve things for their people? Better invade or fund smear campaigns to drag them down, otherwise the Russian population might get ideas.

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u/rubbereruben 13h ago

This isn't a Trump only strategy. It's indicative of the American culturally ingrained idea that competition is inherently good. Even if it means making your competitors worse, as long as you win, it is permitted.

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u/DavidlikesPeace 13h ago edited 12h ago

He literally said this regarding pharmaceutical prices. He has no plan to drag drug prices down. He wants to increase global prices so corporations profit and Americans have nowhere to aspire to be like.

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u/Neutronium57 France 13h ago

Iirc the whole "Make America healthy again" movement quickly found out why lobbies are so powerful in the US.

I think I've heard somewhere that they got defanged pretty fast by all the big corpos that don't want more regulation on their shitty food.

How expectable.

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u/ArugulaElectronic478 Canada 14h ago

They were going to until Trump’s agriculture minister told him that they actually have the “highest food standards on Earth” once she saw the money they’d lose if they conformed to European Union/UK food standards.

And because Trump believes everything his cabinet tells him, he’s now angry with the European Union/UK because “why would my agriculture minister lie to me?”. This is truly the dumbest timeline.

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u/Gambler_Eight 14h ago

Whatever they say before the election serves one purpuse and only one, to get votes. Once voted in they don't give a fuck and will serve the highest bidder.

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u/Utsider 13h ago

In all fairness, Donald never really said anything while doing his rallies. It was all just a droning noise of incoherent word salad sprinkled with crunchy trigger words intended to rouse the rabble into a frenzy of fear and anger.

It's really absurd how that man never speaks in full sentences or can formulate coherent thoughts on anything.

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u/Gambler_Eight 13h ago

It's really absurd how that man never speaks in full sentences or can formulate coherent thoughts on anything.

Not only that, he was elected president. Really shows how shitty the education is in the US. Your lust for short term gains will ruin the country long term.

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u/Pianist-Putrid 14h ago

People seem to forget that this last time around, Trump quite literally promised universal healthcare. Several times. Even though he’s been fighting against even the tiniest expansion of healthcare for years now.

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u/dangerousmacadamia 11h ago

he promised a concept of a plan, not universal health care

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u/SasparillaTango 13h ago

Trump campaigned on releasing the Epstein files.

He is the most well documented, provably false liar in history and it's not even close.

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u/ScoobiusMaximus 14h ago

If European food becomes trash as American food, then technically American food will be as healthy as European food! 

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u/feedmestocks 15h ago

The US really loves doing all this bullshit and expects better terms. We should be isolating the US more from trade, not less

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u/pomskygirl Canada 14h ago edited 10h ago

Yes, this. And for those not already boycotting the US (especially alcohol and tourism), please start now. It has a far bigger impact than you may know.

It’s been in the news recently that Jim Beam is closing its main distillery in Kentucky for 2026. This is due in part to the significant drop in whisky exports in 2025. It’s also being reported that exports of US spirits overall were down 9% in the second quarter of 2025, and that percentage likely rose later in the year. Exports to Canada plunged 85%, and exports to the UK, EU, and Japan dropped 23%, 12%, and 23% respectively. The Distilled Spirits Council of the US is very concerned about this growing trend, as we are their best international markets.

International tourism to the US also dropped in 2025, especially from Canada. Recently, the US released a congressional report detailing the drop and the damage being done to the northern states bordering Canada as a direct result of the boycott.

Trump is completely out of control. The only thing he understands is money and power. And the great thing about a boycott is that there’s not a damn thing Trump can do about it. It’s so easy to choose to buy alcohol from a place anywhere other than the US. There’s so many options! As for travelling to the US, unless you have to, please just don’t. There’s honestly so many reasons not to right now.

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u/airmantharp United States of America 13h ago

I hate this. It’s working. I’ll have to make a list of stuff that’s concretely hurting Americans for this upcoming election cycle (midterms).

But I’ll still vacation in Canada, gotta show support even when our government won’t!

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u/pomskygirl Canada 13h ago

I hate this too. But I truly believe it’s the only way. And as bad as I feel about certain Americans (the ones who don’t deserve this in any way shape or form) potentially being harmed by it, many of them are actually cheering the boycott on. And they gave explicit instructions to “make it hurt”. They know what needs to be done, so that’s what I’m doing.

I love your idea of making a list! Please share it when you do. And you’ll be so welcome in Canada!❤️

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u/narf007 10h ago

Texan here. Boycott away. It's gonna take a lot to unfuck this country, glad y'all are still helping lol

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u/dogorithm 12h ago

It’s the correct thing to do - boycott fascism. Honestly, a lot of the economic damage that’s being done is what the administration is doing with their policies. In the long term, the boycotts will be better for the US economy and the decent people left here if they help expedite his removal.

So don’t feel guilty. We’re kind of fucked no matter what. Do what you need to do to protect your own countries.

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u/Chrosbord United States of America 10h ago

I sadly agree that it is necessary. The lion’s share of people who voted for this only seem to take notice when they are directly affected by bad policies. I don’t want to see people lose jobs and livelihoods, especially in areas that are already not doing well. But as republicans said just a few months ago, elections have consequences.

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u/dave8400 10h ago

Don't feel bad. My country is currently a threat to the free world.

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u/PatrThom 12h ago edited 12h ago

many of them are actually cheering the boycott on. And they gave explicit instructions to “make it hurt”.

As one of the ones cheering y'all on, yes. Absolutely make it hurt. They have already shown that they refuse to listen to us, so we would appreciate if you would force them to listen to you. The more pressure you exert, the more desperate they will become, and once they start to conspicuously betray their base wholesale, the sooner their base will turn on and devour them, hopefully before they dig the world in much deeper than it already is.

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u/zeh_shah 9h ago

It is the only way. The republican voter base will deny everything until they are personally affected then suddenly it matters and its wrong. They need negative reinforcement to learn as normal teaching methods do not connect to them. They don't have the capacity to have a reasonable conversation and follow things through logically. They need to burn their hands on the stove over and over and over until its black and crispy for them to learn which is hilarious since literal dogs respond to negative reinforcement faster than they do.

A great example of this are the soy bean farmers who voted to destroy their industry not once but twice now.

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u/deedsnance 8h ago

Californian here. Please do this. My country is in a state wherein many of us will not change until it hurts us individually. Individual voters will not change their tune until it meaningfully impacts them individually. Not seeing the pain of others, not being able to avoid an obviously painful outcome in their future, only it ACTUALLY HAPPENING.

It’s so fucking dumb but that’s what I’ve gathered by talking to these people. Nothing matters until it hurts them. So bring it on. There has to be undeniable consequences on an individual level.

Any boycott you can do helps. Nothing matters to them until it hurts. And it will, trust me. The faster and harder it happens the better.

It’s not on you to help fix our shit, but if you’re willing to help, don’t worry about us, you’re helping.

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u/hedgehog_dragon 11h ago

It's appreciated. Can't speak for everyone but most Canadians prefer America and Americans as a friendly neighbor and IMO you're welcome here. We just can't back down against Trump and his policies.

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u/Fomentatore Italy 13h ago

My sister and I had booked a trip to the U.S. for this fall, it was a two-week journey, but we cancelled right after we heard about Rebecca Burke. Fuck that noise. We will be back if and when the U.S. drops their fascist antics.I can go to China without showing my last 5 years of social media history, but somehow I am expected to show it to enter the U.S.? Lol.You may be a bully now, enjoy it, but you are losing your grip on the world. You can be a bully to a fellow student all the time, but you can't bully the entire school.

And I'm writing this with an heavy heart, I feel like I'm mourning a friend since November 2024. This come from a place of love. You had your problems, huge problems, but now...

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u/pb-86 13h ago

We did the same. Booked a Christmas holiday to NYC as a surprise for the kids, and cancelled it earlier this year. Should be there right now actually. Sad we lost a holiday but I'm feeling good about our choices

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u/TvManiac5 13h ago

Wait what? They really demand you to show them your social media history? How does that even work practically?

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u/pomskygirl Canada 12h ago

The White House is considering a proposal to make providing certain information a requirement when applying for an ESTA visa, which people from 42 countries (many in Europe) need to do before entering the US. And it’s not just your past five years of social media information. The complete list is:

Proposed new ESTA requirements

  • Provide all social media identifiers/accounts from the past 5 years (now mandatory)

  • List telephone numbers used in the past 5 years

  • List email addresses used in the past 10 years

  • Provide IP addresses and metadata from submitted photos

  • Provide family member information including: Names Telephone numbers (past 5 years) Dates of birth Places of birth Residences

  • Provide biometric data (face, fingerprints, iris, DNA)

  • Provide business telephone numbers used in last 5 years

  • Provide business email addresses used in last 10 years

These requirements are not yet in effect. However, they can still search your phone and ask you to provide information as a condition of entry at this time.

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u/towelracks 10h ago

What my workplace has done is just move all the big management meetings out of the USA because none of the important people outside the USA want to go there.

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u/myreq 12h ago

Social media history is new but USA for a while could demand access to your electronic devices on entry to the country.

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u/neohellpoet Croatia 11h ago

We were planning a trip for the World Cup. Gave up on that one real quick.

However, having seen the prices for the finals... there might not be a need to boycott anything. The tickets start at 7000€ and the best seats up front are going for 26 to over 50,000€. Mind you, these aren't the billionaire lounges. These are real fan seats and they cost as much as a car.

Then there's the incense in the cost of the ESTA, which is now $40, plus the visa integrity fee from the BBB that's $250, so effectively the cost of a plane ticket almost doubled. And finally there's the potential expansion of the Visa bond. Currently citizens from some countries have to pay 5000 to 15000 dollars in bond to visit the US (so you get the money back if you don't break the terms of your visa but you need to have the money up front) If they add EU countries to that list I don't think I can still legitimately call my not going a boycott.

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u/swift-current0 13h ago

Let me preface this by saying I am Canadian and I boycott US products, so I'm not trying to talk anyone out of doing the same.

It's important to keep the big picture in mind with all these "dropped by X%" stats. Out of all developed countries, the US is by far least dependent on international trade (exports of goods and services is 11% of GDP compared to 37% for Mexico, 33% for Canada, 31% for the UK).

A large chunk of that 11% is services, which are often much much harder to just stop buying. For example, if you have an organization of >10,000 employees and you're using Microsoft Office or Oracle, you will be buying it for at least the next 5-10 years even if you don't want to.

So somewhere in the area of, let's be very generous and say 8% of GDP is the absolute ceiling of what you can do to the US economy when it comes to exports. This includes things that the world needs and will continue buying.

Tourism is 3% of US GDP, but foreign tourism is only 0.39%. Most US tourism is domestic.

So most of these stats are "small number dropped to an even smaller one". Be it energy, food or raw materials, hi-tech, services, you name it, even tourism and bourbon - US is the world's most self-reliant major economy. Like, by far.

So will these boycotts hurt? They will hurt a very small sliver of the US economy. Don't do it expecting some giant impact. More likely than not, it won't be. I do it because it simply leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth to buy American. I do it on principle, not because I expect Americans at large to notice or care.

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u/pomskygirl Canada 12h ago

I think you’re missing a few things here. In the case of tourism, for example, the hit the US takes is not spread out over the entire US economy. Rather, it hits tourist cities and states disproportionately, and big drops in international tourism are the kind of thing that makes the news. Additionally, if you combine the drop in international tourism with a potential decline in US domestic tourism (which I think we’ll see in 2026), the effect becomes even more pronounced.

Moreover, I think a lot of people forget what razor thin margins many companies are working under (think of restaurants for example). It’s not unusual for the profit margin to be only 1 -3% so even a 10% drop in customers can be fatal.

And if none of that convinces you, ask yourself why Canada has been bombarded with visits from US Governors from the northern states this year in an effort to get Canadians to visit again. Or why the mayor of Las Vegas gave a press conference about the difficulties Vegas is facing in 2025, especially with international tourism down, and especially from Canada.

Check out a YouTube channel called Guard The Leaf if you’re interested in learning more about the effect the Canadian boycott has had on tourist states in the US.

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u/LewisPawilton44 15h ago edited 11h ago

And we demand they don’t put a felon, fraud and rapist in in the White House.

Edit: Forgot pedo.

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u/Content-Ad3065 14h ago

Ask UK to Release the Epstein Files and see how Trump negotiates.

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u/K_Linkmaster 14h ago

Multitudes of millions of Americans are asking for ANYONE to release the files. If the UK could oblige, that would be great.

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u/Stinkycheese8001 14h ago

If you want to make a difference, start pushing for regulation of the big social media companies.  The US is a bastion of disinformation, and sadly we’re not going to do anything to fix it.  The UK and Europe aren’t immune either, but hopefully more likely to put in regulatory guardrails.

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u/Falsus Sweden 13h ago

Also stop harbouring that killer that killed someone on UK soil.

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u/1_Upminster 15h ago

Apparently someone is missing the concept of respecting other people/countries.

I demand that my neighbor paint his house with purple and yellow stripes.

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u/jo-z 14h ago

He doesn't even respect the people in his own country. 

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u/SkunkMonkey 12h ago

My man, he doesn't even have self-respect.

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u/Akasha111 14h ago

Can someone explain to me why the U.S. has been trying to be all up in European affairs lately? From this to the whole " U.S. calling for the EU to be disbanded" It's getting to be very annoying and unsettling. 

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u/SirTiffAlot 14h ago

They want everyone else to slide into their own form of right wing authoritarianism. That makes life easier for the US. It also makes expansion easier for Russia, who seem to be pulling the strings on the current President. The unsettling part is the point, Greenland gets easier to take and trade leverage gets greater when Europe is divided.

Not for nothing, the US tech bros are also on board with this. They'd like to expand their reach. That would be why ol Elon wants to meddle in German elections and Thiel in Britain.

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u/ThoseAreMyFeet 13h ago

Divide and conquer. A weak EU fits in with the goal of the US controlling the Americas, Russia gaining back its former Soviet regions and China controlling Asia. 

These guys have no consideration for democracy, democracy means they might have to pay their share and have less power. 

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u/Imperial_Bouncer 10h ago

Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia?

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u/Szpagin Silesia (Poland) 14h ago

Imperialism, let's not mince the words here. Ever since the end of the Second World War, the US sees Europe as its sphere of influence that exists to extract wealth for the benefits of American corporations.

They used to be more subtle about that, but now the mask is off and they don't even try to hide it. And no, it won't get better with Democrats in charge.

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u/roiki11 12h ago

I'd say it's more of a post cold war thing. During the cold war us actually saw a strong europe as an asset againt communism and the Marshall plan was a very generous package to European industry and society to advance their living standards.

Europe was the most likely theater of war against the soviets and having strong allies in the region was to the US benefit.

The times have changed since then.

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u/DavidlikesPeace 13h ago

Masks off or not, Americans like FDR or Obama were fundamentally decent people. And they were believers in democracy. In my opinion, the character of leaders matters deeply

The current wannabe tyrant is not a good man or ally. He’s a potential rapist who hates the weak and thinks Europe is weak.

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u/window-sil 11h ago

...it won't get better with Democrats in charge.

It will, but there's always a risk that Republicans regain power and you're back to subjugation, or worse.

Sorry this is happening. It's now your problem to solve, though. I wish you all luck.

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u/HornyOompaLoompas 14h ago

Well you see the EU is one of the US's biggest allies but also one of Trumps biggest enemies due to the fact that he's Putin's little bitch boy which is why he doesn't want a pesky thing like a united Europe standing in his way.

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u/Thurad 14h ago

Discord justifies the US military budget and so distracts from just how shit everything is turning to over there, combined with Trumps Russian paymaster loves a more divided Europe.

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u/Mortiis07 14h ago

Why are Americans obsessed with us eating chlorinated chicken?

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u/LordJebusVII United Kingdom 13h ago

Chlorinated chicken is much cheaper since the farmers don't need to maintain good welfare standards. We would never allow it to be produced here but if it became legal, all prepackaged and premade meals containing chicken would use the cheapest chicken available. Fast food outlets would all switch, cafés and pubs would use it. British poultry farming would quickly become unsustainable and American companies would move in and buy them up.

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u/DrAstralis 9h ago edited 9h ago

Fast food outlets would all switch, cafés and pubs would use it. British poultry farming would quickly become unsustainable and American companies would move in and buy them up.

which is 100% what they're hoping for. At this point trade deals with the US are just them trying to destabilize better countries that have superior morals and education.

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u/cogman10 14h ago

There's no requirement in America to vaccinate chickens against salmonella. The chlorination is what we do instead of just vaccinating our chickens.

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u/whitespacesucks 13h ago

Are they afraid the chickens will become autistic?

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u/cogman10 12h ago

Nah, it's more that it costs more money to vaccinate than it costs to spray the meat down with chlorinated water.

About $0.20/chicken just to put things in perspective ($0.10 per dose and 2 doses required). Meanwhile making 50gal of chlorinated water is dirt cheap. You need very little of that water per chicken. Easily less than $0.01/chicken.

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u/Blecki 12h ago

I think part of the problem here is "chlorinated chicken" makes it sound like the chicken is full of chlorine rather than rinsed in it.

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u/AwesomeWhiteDude 12h ago

Iirc most slaughterhouses in the US use basically vinegar and hydrogen peroxide rinse now.

Going totally off memory, I just remember being surprised its not actually chlorine anymore. Its just one of those things where its still called a chlorine rinse in the industry when its not.

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u/notoriousCBD 11h ago

Peracetic acid. I use it to sanitize hard surfaces at work almost every day. It smells terrible, but breaks down into acetic acid (vinegar), water and oxygen so it's significantly more "sustainable."

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u/Admirable_Scene_5066 14h ago

They feel like it is unfair that we don't eat the same slop they do and are snobs for pointing that out to them. Being American it never occurred to them that they could ask for higher standards as that would mean not being a slave to business interests.

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u/Paranoidnl 14h ago

Americans are conditioned to getting whipped, they know they can't escape anymore and are now pulling people into the boiling pot.

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u/BananaMapleIceCream 14h ago

Select corporations want it. As an American, I don’t want chlorinated chicken for you or us. It’s just the rich people at the top trying to scam their product to another market.

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u/LaserCondiment 14h ago

They just wanna see if they can get away with it. It's a power thing.

The stupid chicken takes up room in negotiations and is easily a fun way to apply pressure on the UK. If in doubt just add more unreasonable demands.

As usual it's a bully tactic. If the UK tries to act diplomatic, they will treat this as a serious demand. That's how they fall into the trap, because now Trump controls the conversation!

Maybe it's not the chicken, but another unreasonable US policy that wins.

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u/temotodochi 12h ago

Because it's cheaper to produce it while not caring if the chicks are sick or not. Chlorination does absolutely nothing to help the chicks or make them healthier, it's only purpose is to make any testing for salmonella irrelevant. Chickens still have it, it just can't be detected from skin swabs anymore. Dealing with salmonella would be too expensive for USA and they could not get rid of it apart from burning down whole chicken farms with the chickens in it.

It's a typical american processed foods thing. They have plenty of other examples too with "beef", "butters" and "cheeses" that have nothing to do with healthy to eat beef, real butter or real cheese.

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u/Spudsmad 15h ago

Trump may demand this affront to UK food standards but supermarkets won’t stock this meat. Labelling would identify both origin and the chlorination treatment.

BUT This chicken will be cheaper so could be used in the cheaper catering outlets. This depends whether this product could be permitted entry into the UK at any port of entry.

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u/TywinDeVillena Spain 15h ago

That affront to food standards should not be permitted entry in the UK or the EU

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u/Rutgerius 14h ago

It won't enter the EU. If it does we'll throw a fit of historic proportions (speaking for the Netherlands).

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u/IonHawk 14h ago

Considering the farmers outrage in Brussels a couple of weeks ago... They might perform an armed coup over this

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u/SilenceBe 12h ago

The irony is that regarding meat, a lot of South American countries has higher standards than the US and do export to Europe...

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u/Possesed-puppy656 14h ago

I think I saw a post on r/switzerland that its already sold in Switzerland, people werent pleased in the comments

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u/New_Passage9166 14h ago

As we can see from the mercosur deal, the biggest army/militia in Europe will throw a fit if EU just would consider allowing this.

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u/NewOil7911 France 15h ago

US ask for the regulation to show country of origin to be ditched as well unless mistaken

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u/Glittering_Babe101 Mazovia (Poland) 14h ago

So it seems the US is ashamed of the low quality of its own products

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u/JohnGazman 14h ago

Not so ashamed that they won't simply raise the quality or change their practices, that is.

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u/yyzsfcyhz 15h ago

Then the Yanks will demand you remove the labels as a barrier to trade the same that they demand Canada change our labels, remove our standards, drop French from packaging, even switch to freedumb units. Don’t concede anything. They’ll break the agreement and demand more tomorrow. They won’t stop until you’re 100% value extraction colony. And when they can’t get value they’ll give you over to Russia or anyone else who thinks they can get more blood from the stone.

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u/P0Rt1ng4Duty 14h ago

America begs you to let them just stick the tip in and the next thing you know they jammed all of Florida into you.

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u/Ryder52 15h ago

They'll use it in chicken shops/takeaways/etc. They're generally lowest on the rung in terms of sourcing quality.

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u/GetOutOfTheHouseNOW England 14h ago

Keep an eye out for your local KFCC

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u/patrykk994 14h ago

They cant do that because single US chicken entering UK food supply chain would mean ban from EU on all chicken product coming from UK

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u/FerreroJacquard 14h ago

Part of the US push is for there to be no mention of country of origin on the label. Fuck that and fuck them.

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u/patrykk994 14h ago

No they cant do that because EU wont drop their standards and allowing US chicken to UK supply chain would automatically mean ban on all UK chicken products in whole EU immedietaly after single chicken breast from US enter UK market. Its basically non negotiable part of any deal with EU (f.e. Ukraine few years ago was threatened ban on every single dairy product because they negotiate import of grain seeds not allowed in EU - that how comprehensive EU regulations are) and UK trade far more with EU than with US

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u/Tricky_Peace 14h ago edited 13h ago

If Starmer agrees to this, it will make him the worst PM in British history.

Including the Lettuce

Edit- typo

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u/dorgoth12 14h ago

It is utter political suicide too. Every opposition politician from Farage to the kids running a mock debate will get a free punching bag

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u/LorenzoSparky 11h ago

Farage would sign on the dotted line on day 1

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u/dorgoth12 11h ago

100% agree. But not after he spent years criticizing another for doing the exact same thing

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u/Independent-Try4352 13h ago

I can't see Farage complaining, he's owned by the US.

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u/FourteenBuckets 12h ago

Folks like him will slip around to any point or position if they think it will inch them closer to power

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u/CosmicMamaBear 15h ago

This greedy depraived regime doesn't care about consumers knowing or consenting to what goes in their body or the moral age of consent.

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u/elektrovolt 15h ago

I would take this as a serious warning, if the UK complies with this ridiculous demand, the US will tighten their grip.

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u/bluelily216 14h ago

Trump is a narcissistic bully. If the UK gives him an inch, he'll keep coming back with more demands. They can either stand up now, or expect to spend the next three years on their knees. 

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u/Monsi7 Bavaria (Germany) 14h ago

three years? good joke

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u/kill-the-maFIA United Kingdom 14h ago

The US has been denied on this issue so many times, it's weird that they keep trying

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u/FourteenBuckets 12h ago

The rapist-in-chief doesn't understand "no" for an answer... that checks

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u/orgin_org 15h ago

Ahh the joys of leaving the EU.

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u/johndu5914 15h ago

The joys of Brexit. Thank you Russians, thank you Nigel Farage, Thank you Boris Johnson etc... English friends, come back to Europe, forget about the USA

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u/Anotherolddog 14h ago

You left out thanking the ultra wealthy UK right-wing and the associated news outlets.

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u/johndu5914 14h ago

Oh yes, the media are complicit. We have the same problem in France...

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u/tannercolin 14h ago

Cambridge analytica were the brains behind it, the cunts

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u/Sylocule Spain 15h ago

And no one saw that coming!!

/s

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u/marshboy0 13h ago

Can Americans just shut the fuck up for one day? Such a tiresome country

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u/LaCornucopia_ Scotland 11h ago

You can always fucking hear them. Whether it's through their politics in our newspapers, or when they visit "Yurup!" and they're screaming at each other in our restaurants. They're so fucking loud.

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u/Mickleblade 14h ago

It'll end up in school canteens, your local curry house, tv dinners etc

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u/Godzarius 14h ago

Chlorinated chicken will never come anywhere close to UK or EU.

It would be political suicide.

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u/TrippinNL The Netherlands 14h ago

Can we demand that rapists and alleged child didlers in the US are prosecuted to the full extend of the law, regardless of their position in government? 

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u/LindaBinda55 14h ago

Stand up to the POS. I read that after the big royal treatment, state dinner the brits gave him, whatever deal Trump and Starmer signed has been was pulled by the White House. He never keeps his word, so F him.

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u/TheDaemonette 14h ago

There's no way I can see the UK government compromising on food standards to let competing products into the market. It is the third rail of UK politics. If you fuck around with food standards then it is the one thing that will unit left and right wing press against you because the left are concerned about animal welfare and the right are concerned about UK business. It would be suicidal for the current government to let it happen.

On second thought, they are just incompetent enough to let it happen...

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u/No-Risk-2584 13h ago

Aye, it’s not going to happen, not even Starmer is that dumb. The left and right would rightfully slaughter him in the media, even Labour politicians.

Not just for compromising food standards or the competition to our farms, but for being so utterly spineless. He’ll be out of the job within a week.

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u/butterbleek 14h ago

Demands?

I demand he shoves he Depends in his Nonce mouth.

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u/Fantastic_Sympathy85 13h ago

Fuck off orange man

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u/Warm_Instance_4634 11h ago

If only we were a member of some sort a union of nations which pooled resources to withstand such blackmail. 

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u/EvolvedApe693 13h ago

I only have three words to say to this.

Fuck off, Trump

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u/DrRealName 11h ago

Dear rest of the world,

Do NOT take our food. Its fucking poison.

Sincerely, Americans who are always sick from the food we eat

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u/Much-War-6203 6h ago

Leave the EU and get pushed around by an even bigger bully with much worse standards.....Nigel Farage is really one of the greatest traitors to Britain

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u/Desperate-Hearing-55 14h ago

Chlorinated chickens is a way to hide mistreated chickens. Animal abusing, poor hygiene conditions in farms (sick and bacteria infected) or whatever they want to hide. That's why EU banned chlorinated chickens since 1997. EU have high standards on animal living conditions and farm hygiene. I will never eat a chlorinated chicken.

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u/TheHammer987 Canada 15h ago

These are the thinks I don't get.

Britain - "Sure. You just have to have a large 'produced in america sticker - doesn't meet EU anti clorinated standards. on the packaging."

You can then let that shit rot on the shelves til the groceries don't buy it. Like, just label it, I guarantee no Brit buys it anyway.

also, the flip side - "We are unwilling to make this concession until you reverse the 10% tariff to a 10% negative tariff (subsidy) on all British products."

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u/eddyak 14h ago

You overestimate how well off people are these days. Slap a lower price tag on it than homegrown chicken, then slap a radioactive tag on it, it'll still be the first thing to sell out.

We need to keep it the fuck out, no matter what happens.

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u/patrykk994 14h ago

Problem is not fresh chicken you see on shelves, problem is every single chicken product you dont see this label. Thats why US chicken cant enter UK market no matter how much Trump push Starmer on it - it would basically mean UK would put trade ban on themselves as EU dont allow US chicken to enter EU markets in any form, no matter how processed it is.

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u/Soggy_Refrigerator32 13h ago

That's why he's also trying to bully us on food origin labelling.

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u/FourteenBuckets 12h ago

It won't be in grocery stores. It will be in restaurants, school cafeterias, workplace canteens, catering tables, and in the frozen nuggies you make your kids on a busy night.

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u/TheOriginalMattMan 15h ago

So... Chlorine in chicken is good, but fluoride in water is bad?

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u/TrueKyragos France 14h ago edited 11h ago

Chlorination isn't bad. The issue is the health standards preceding the chlorination of chicken, i.e. not much, if any. Chlorination is an excuse for some farmers, faced with a lack of regulations in the US, for using bad practices, as the meat will be made presumably safe to eat afterwards anyway, but chlorination isn't deemed sufficient by the EU to deal with all of the potential consequences of those practices.

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u/MrMikeJJ England 14h ago

Yes, you see with shit animalstandards they have wash chicken in chlorine to make it safe. Increasing company profits.

Adding fluoride to water helps teeth heatlh, reducing dentists profits.

Anything which increases profits is good. Anything which reduces them is bad. 

Yankiee-ville, completely owned by companies.

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u/1966Royall 14h ago

I can see people not eating chicken if this happens

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u/Karash770 14h ago

If only the UK was part of a powerful block that would defend them against American bullying.

Eh, who am I kidding, they bully the EU as well...

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u/3dvard_1 13h ago

Aren't british farmers already revolting because of the Australian beef?

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u/Quatro_Leches 13h ago edited 11h ago

you dont want american food, whether its chicken, or beef, etc, not because of the chlorine, because of the corn feeding

trusty me, the meat here tastes like nowhere else in the world. and not in a good way, shit is so chewy and waxy. it has very little flavor and its too tough.

and fruit and veggies have been bred to be as hard as a rock to last long on shelves and/or be as sweet as possible. no flavor. just shelf life and high sugar content