US and EU Reach Provisional Agreement in Beef Hormone Dispute

May 6, 2009

United States Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk and European Union (EU) Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton have reached an agreement in principle on a way forward in the dispute over hormone-treated beef.  In a press release issued on its website, the Office of USTR has announced that 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 (20,000 tons in the first three years to 45,000 tons beginning in the fourth year). 

Under the agreement, the United States will maintain existing sanctions; however, it will not impose new sanctions on EU products during the initial three-year period.  All sanctions will be eliminated during the fourth year.  As previously reported, the United States was scheduled to implement additional retaliatory duties against certain EU imports on March 23, 2009.  The effective date for these duties was pushed back to April 23, 2009 and then May 9, 2009. 

Additionally, both the US and EU have agreed to refrain from further litigations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) with regard to the EU's ban on beef treated with certain growth-promoting hormones for at least 18 months.  Both sides will seek to conclude a longer-term agreement on this issue prior to the end of the four-year period.