The EU has initiated a dispute against Canada and the United States in the World Trade Organisation (WTO), challenging the two countries’ continued sanctions against EU exports because of the EU’s ban on hormone beef.
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The EU believes these sanctions are unjustified; it claims it has removed the measures found to be WTO-inconsistent in the WTO dispute on hormone beef dating from 1998. The EU says that if Canada and the US disagree with the EU measures, they should suspend their sanctions, which have been in place since July 1999, and refer their apparent disagreement to the WTO.
“There is no reason why European companies should continue to be targeted by sanctions when they export to Canada and the United States. The EU ban on certain growth promoting hormones is now in full respect of our international obligations. We have put in place revised legislation based on a thorough and independent scientific risk assessment,” said EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy.
In February 1998, the WTO Dispute Settlement Body ruled against the EU’s ban on certain growth promoting beef hormones, deciding that EU legislation at the time was not based on a proper scientific risk assessment and the supporting scientific evidence was insufficient.
The EU has worked to eliminate those deficiencies by basing the new EU Hormones Directive of 22 September 2003 on a full scientific risk assessment that was conducted over the years 1999-2002. The new directive maintains the permanent ban on oestradiol 17ß and imposes a provisional ban on five other hormones (testosterone, progesterone, trenbolone acetate, zeranol and melengestrol acetate) because of perceived risks to human health.
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By GlobalDataOn 27 October 2003, the EU notified the WTO that it had implemented the WTO ruling of 1998 and that Canada and the US should therefore lift their sanctions. The North American countries disagreed and refused to lift their sanctions.
