While the Obama Administration’s time in office is rapidly winding down, it’s taking up a battle for U.S. beef producers regarding hormones and the European Union. The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office announced this week that it will take a shot at the European Union regarding its ban on hormones in American beef exports. The World Trade Organization has said in the past that the ban on hormones is not based on science and in violation of international trade laws and obligations. The dispute goes all the way back to the 1980s when Europe banned American beef imports that were treated with growth hormones. The E.U. lost the case when it went before the World Trade Organization in 1998. The European Commission said the dispute would be settled through a pending trade agreement knowns as the TTIP, but that trade deal wasn’t finished. The USTR says it’s going to relaunch the fight, starting with possible tariffs on European products.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.