US-EU Beef Trade bans to end?
Hopes have been raised of an end to the long-running trading dispute between the US and the EU over imports of beef after protracted negotiations. The US originally banned EU beef imports in 1997 due to fears of BSE, while the EU banned US beef imports in 1998 due to concerns about growth-promoting hormones.
Draft Legislation, which is currently subject to consultation, would mean that US bovine import conditions would come into alignment with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) BSE standards instead of maintaining a blanket ban, thus allowing imports of beef from the EU. Furthermore, the European Parliament is due to vote on the creation of a zero-duty tariff-rate for high-quality non-hormone-treated beef on Wednesday.
The possibility of the bans being lifted has been warmly welcomed by UK farming organisations. Commenting, Assistant Director Joanna Pugh of the National Beef Assocation (NBA) said “It’s not just that the USA would be an interesting new export market for British beef, it’s the acknowledgement by yet another country that beef from the UK is some of the safest and highest quality anywhere in the world. With BSE long behind us, more and more export certificates are being signed. In fact 37 non-EU countries opened their doors last year alone, so the USA will join a long list of countries that have acknowledged what the UK has to offer in terms of traceability, high welfare standards, environmental credentials and taste.”
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
