Trade MEPs agree to raise US share in hormone-free beef imports
The US can import the largest share of hormone-free beef to the EU from 2020, without raising the overall amount of imports, agreed trade MEPs in a vote on Monday.
The solution trade MEPs agreed to allows that within the maximum amount of high-quality, hormone-free beef imported from around the world, the US will now have a larger share. Australia, Uruguay and Argentina agreed to the arrangement which lowers the amount of their own exports.
Rapporteur Bernd Lange (S&D, DE)
"This agreement allows more high-quality, hormone-free American beef on the European market, although it will not raise the overall amount of imported beef. The message of this agreement is clear: we would like to de-escalate trade tensions with the US, but we want to see the same efforts of de-escalation on the other side of the Atlantic. We seek a negotiated solution for the Airbus-Boeing dispute and progress on other areas such as the tariffs on aluminium and steel and table olives.”
Next step
Trade MEPs agreed to the proposal by 26 votes to seven, with four abstentions. The accompanying resolution, setting out the reasons for the decision, passed by 27 votes to six, with four abstentions.The Parliament is set to vote on the issue on 28 November. After Council's decision, the measures are set to enter into force with 1 January 2020.
Background
The EU does not allow the imports of hormone-treated meat, a decision the US has disputed in the WTO since 1989. To comply with WTO rules, the EU allowed the US and other countries to import more non-hormone treated beef to its territory in 2009. It is the US share within those 45,000 metric tonnes of hormone-free beef that the EU now raised to 35,000 metric tonnes, leaving the rest to share among other exporters.