Recommendation 10

We asked DHSC about whether AMR should be a component of trade negotiations. DHSC told us that the UK starts from a position of wanting to minimise the risk of antibiotic contamination of food and antibiotic-resistant organisms entering the UK market via food and that some countries use a lot more antibiotics in farming than we do.22 DHSC would wish this to be a core aspect of making trade deals with countries that use a lot more antibiotics in farming than we do.23 However, DHSC acknowledged that while it can advise the UK negotiators, in a trade negotiation everything is on the table. VMD told us that antibiotics are not used in the UK and Europe for growth promotion in animals, but that this is not the case throughout the world, and that this should be a consideration in any trade agreement.24