May 30, 2008

EU appeals WTO ruling for US beef hormone ban
   

The EU has appealed against a WTO ruling in regards to its import ban on US and Canadian beef.
 

The EU banned imports of US and Canadian beef that had been treated with growth-enhancing hormones and a WTO panel ruled on March 31, 2008 that the EU import ban was not backed by scientific evidence therefore breaking trade rules.

The assessment of a WTO dispute settlement panel in March was so flawed that the EU has decided to request the Appellate Body of the WTO to overturn it, according to a statement by the EU's executive Commission.

The Commission denied it had broken international sanitary and phytosanitary regulations, saying that the panel had 'failed to establish the facts correctly' and had relied selectively on partial scientific experts, among other failings.

The EU was also upset that the ruling had not said the US and Canada must remove retaliatory duties they had imposed on EU exports.