Agri-food imports from the USA

7.3.2025

Question for written answer  E-000999/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Daniel Buda (PPE)

The President of the USA bemoans his country’s trade deficit with the European Union, especially in the area of agri-food products, and has called for the EU to buy more US products. The main barrier to this, though, are the differences in food safety rules, as the EU bans imports of US products that have been treated with hormones or hazardous pesticides or which are genetically modified. Similarly, Europe’s farmers are reluctant to engage in unfair external competition with products that are produced to lower standards, making it all the more complicated to resolve this trade dispute.

How will the Commission safeguard the European Union’s food safety standards in the context of trade agreements with the United States, given the significant regulatory differences as regards the use of hormones, pesticides and genetically modified organisms in imported foodstuffs?

Submitted: 7.3.2025