Hormone-free beef

The European Parliament today adopted an agreement, bringing an end to a long-running dispute between the EU and the US on beef imports (1). Commenting on the agreement, Green MEP José Bové, who has followed the dispute throughout, said:

"This vote finally draws a line under this long-running dispute between the EU and the US. At international level, it is a vindication of the Europe's higher food standards and the EU's resolve to face down the opposition of the US through the WTO.

"Under the terms of the deal, the US will be allowed to export an amount of high quality beef, which has not been treated with growth-hormones, to the EU, with the US lifting retaliatory restrictions on EU imports.

"Instead of a race to the bottom, we should be pushing for the highest standards of protection for our food quality and our environment at international level."

(1) The EP voted to approve the Quisthoudt-Rowohl report on an autonomous tariff quota for imports of high-quality beef, which represents the final solution to the dispute.