The European Union criticized a U.S. decision to ban European poultry exports amid a dispute over sanitation methods, calling the move "unjustified" and "unfair."
The EU executive Commission reiterated its threat to file a complaint with the World Trade Organization over the poultry ban, which went into effect last week.
U.S. and European negotiators averted a full-fledged trade war last week, concluding an agreement in Washington covering red meat, pet food, eggs and dairy products.
The EU hailed the accord, which it said "will provide a more stable and permanent trade relationship in animals and animal products."
But European objections to the U.S. practice of decontaminating slaughtered chickens with chlorinated water at the end of processing remained unresolved.
Contending that the chlorine rinse does not provide adequate protection against contamination, the EU last month blocked about $50 million in U.S. poultry exports to Europe.
With no agreement on poultry, USDA said it would begin a thorough examination of the EU's poultry inspection system. Until the study is completed, an estimated $1 million in EU poultry exports will be blocked.
The U.S. said it is the EU's slaughterhouse practices -- which don't use an anti-bacterial rinse, but require strict sanitary measures during processing -- that are inferior.
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