The Irish Farmers' Association has accused the European Union of doing a sweetheart deal with US President Donald Trump on beef imports.
Mr Trump announced a new agreement this evening which will allow America to sell more beef to Europe.
Under the deal, the US will get a guaranteed share of an existing 45,000 tonne European Union beef quota.
The agreement was signed at the White House this evening and speaking at the ceremony, Mr Trump said it was a tremendous victory for American farmers, American ranchers and European consumers.
The deal will not increase overall imports into the EU and the beef will have to be hormone-free.
The Irish Farmers' Association has described the agreement as another example of beef farmers being sacrificed for other sectors.
IFA National Livestock Chairman Angus Woods said beef imports are seriously undermining EU and Irish beef prices and described this new deal as a backdoor arrangement facilitated by the recent Mercosur agreement.
"The EU has reallocated most of the non-hormone quota to the US and given the South American countries that had this quota an additional 99,000 tonnes of extra quota in the Mercosur deal," Mr Woods said.
Back in 2009, a deal was reached between the EU and the US in a bid to address a longstanding dispute over the imports of US beef treated with growth-promoting hormones.
Under the agreement, a 45,000 tonne quota of non-hormone treated beef was opened by the EU to qualifying suppliers, including countries outside of the US.
Under this new deal, the existing quota will remain unchanged but 35,000 out of the total 45,000 tonne quota will be ring-fenced for the United States and phased in over a period of seven years.
