US-EU Beef Dispute Has Light at End of Tunnel”

Wednesday, United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk and European Union Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton announced an agreement in principle on a way forward in the long-running dispute over hormone-treated beef. The agreement would provide additional duty-free access to the EU market for high-quality beef produced from cattle that have not been treated with growth-promoting hormones – 20-thousand tons in the first three years and increasing to 45-thousand tons beginning in the fourth year.

Under the agreement, the United States will maintain existing sanctions and will not impose new sanctions on EU products during the initial three-year period, and will eliminate all sanctions during the fourth year. In addition, the two sides will refrain from further litigation at the World Trade Organization regarding the EU’s ban on beef treated with certain growth-promoting hormones for at least 18 months. In the meantime, the two sides will seek to conclude a longer-term agreement.

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley recognizes that - this provisional accommodation would increase exports of U.S. beef, and that’s good news for cattle and beef producers. Still, he laments the fact that - U.S. beef from cattle treated with growth-promoting hormones remains locked out of the EU market. He says - this beef is safe and consumed by millions of people in the United States and other countries every day. He urged the European Union to - reopen its market to all U.S. beef, which is entirely safe.