990570 EU's Brittan Sees "Small" Compensation in Beef Row

Budapest - European Trade Commissioner Sir Leon Brittan said the EU would be willing to offer “small compensation” to the United States in the community's row with America over beef imports.

But Brittan, attending an informal ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization in Hungary, said the EU was not willing to lift its ban on hormone- treated U.S. beef.

“The amount (of compensation) would be small because we don't think that the (WTO) abitrator who assessed the measure of so-called damage would be able to back what they (the United States) is asking for,” Brittan said.

The United States had threatened to hit up to $900 million of EU exports, ranging from pork and beef to chocolate and small-engine motorcycles, with punitive duties unless the EU lifted its decade-old ban on growth hormones by May 13.

The WTO ruled last year that the EU's ban on the import of hormone-treated beef broke international trade rules and gave it until May 13 to comply.

Brittan said he hoped the United States would give up its demand for lifting the ban.

“That is an unrealistic condition,” Brittan said. “I hope the U.S. does not persist with that but does negotiate compensation.”

“Compensation increases trade and sanctions diminish trade,” he added.

Brittan said the amounts in question are small compared with the total trading volume between the United States and the EU.

“The amount of trade involved is very small indeed compared with the total volume of trade,” he said.

He added that he had no plans to meet his U.S. counterpart Charlene Barshefsky, also attending the Budapest meeting, to discuss the beef row on the sidelines of the one-day conference.

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