Washington - U.S. officials hailed a World Trade Organization mandate that the European Union open its markets to hormone-treated beef in one year and said they expect the EU will meet the deadline.
A WTO arbitrator on Wednesday gave the EU 15 months from February to comply with a recent panel decision that found that the EU's ban on hormone-treated beef imports violated international trading rules.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said in a statement that he was “pleased” with the arbitrator's decision.
“Countries have been put on notice that they can no longer hide behind measures that have no scientific basis and are inconsistent with obligations to which they have agreed,” Glickman said.
“We trust that the EU will now do the right thing and implement market opening measures by the WTO- mandated deadline,” he said. “The United States, and now the WTO, expect nothing less.”
In a separate statement, U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky said the arbitrator's decision sent an “unmistakable message” that the time for European Union delay is over.
The United States expects “the EU will now take the necessary steps to bring its policies into compliance with WTO obligations by moving to lift the ban on beef from the United States and other affected countries,” Barshefsky said. “There is no convincing rational basis for the ban.”
The EU requested an arbitrator after it was unable to reach agreement with the United States and Canada on how long it should take to implement a WTO appeals panel ruling in February that its ban on meat produced using growth-promoting hormones violated international trading rules.
The arbitrator gave the EU until May 13, 1999, to comply with the ruling, or fifteen months after the Feb. 13 appellate panel ruling.
Since the EU had been seeking up to four years to conduct new tests and bring its domestic policies into conformance with the ruling, the U.S. Trade Representative's office also hailed the arbitrator's decision as “an important reattlement body) recommendations is essential and that delays in implementation will not be accepted, the arbitration award reinforces the rights of WTO members to promote remedies where WTO obligations have been abrogated,” USTR said.
Earlier on Thursday, an EU spokesman said he was not sure if the EU will be able to comply with the WTO decision.
“We don't know whether it will be done in 15 months or not,” said Gerry Kiely, spokesman for European Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler.
U.S. producers say they could potentially ship millions of dollars of beef into the European Union.
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