Wine exports to the USA
30.4.2013
Question for written answer E-004831-13
to the Commission
Rule 117
Herbert Dorfmann (PPE) , Giovanni La Via (PPE) , Elisabeth Jeggle (PPE) , Aldo Patriciello (PPE) , Clemente Mastella (PPE) , Antonio Cancian (PPE) , Hans-Peter Mayer (PPE) , Sergio Paolo Francesco Silvestris (PPE) , Mariya Gabriel (PPE) , Salvatore Iacolino (PPE) , Peter Jahr (PPE) , Michel Dantin (PPE) , Albert Deß (PPE) , Maria do Céu Patrão Neves (PPE) , Giancarlo Scottà (EFD) , Astrid Lulling (PPE) , Cristina Gutiérrez-Cortines (PPE) , Lara Comi (PPE) , Paolo De Castro (S&D) , Esther Herranz García (PPE) , Mairead McGuinness (PPE) , Giuseppe Gargani (PPE) , Angelika Niebler (PPE) , Amalia Sartori (PPE) , Agnès Le Brun (PPE) , Rareş-Lucian Niculescu (PPE) , Anja Weisgerber (PPE) , Licia Ronzulli (PPE) , Véronique Mathieu Houillon (PPE) , Filip Kaczmarek (PPE) , Lorenzo Fontana (EFD) , Vincenzo Iovine (S&D) , Carlo Fidanza (PPE) , Salvatore Tatarella (PPE) , Christa Klaß (PPE) , Markus Ferber (PPE) , Dimitar Stoyanov (NI) , Janusz Wojciechowski (ECR)
The EU is a major exporter of agricultural products. Wine is one of the most important agricultural exports and the USA is one of our most important export markets.
In recent years, there has been an increase in problems with pesticide controls on imports into the USA.
A prime example is Penconazole, which is approved for use on grapes in the EU but is an unregistered pesticide in the USA.
The USA has stringent customs controls which detect numerous active substances from plant protection products which may be present in trace amounts. Many of these pesticides are not recognised by the USA.
Products with trace amounts of these substances are rejected by US customs because of the existing zero-tolerance principle, even though there is no health risk to the consumer.
1. How is it possible that some pesticides which are registered in the EU are not recognised in the USA? Would the mutual recognition of registered pesticides be possible?
2. What is the Commission doing about the zero-tolerance principle which is obstructing/disturbing exports from the EU to the USA?
3. Does the Commission intend to address this issue in its forthcoming negotiations with the USA on a transatlantic Free Trade Agreement and deliver an effective solution (for instance as part of an ambitious SPS chapter)?
OJ C 35 E, 06/02/2014