August 5, 2013

EU continues to open market for US high-quality beef

The EU will continue to provide US beef producers with significant access, at zero duty, to the EU market for high-quality beef produced from non-hormone-treated cattle.

This was announced by US Trade Representative (USTR), Michael Froman, and Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, on August 1, 2013.

The US and the EU are planning to extend, for two years, the phase two of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in 2009 in connection with the US' long-running dispute with the EU over its ban on beef from cattle treated with certain growth-promoting hormones.

In the year since phase two began, US beef shipments under the quota were an estimated US$200 million, up 300% from the value of exports in the year before the MOU entered into force. Under the extension, the EU would maintain, until August 2, 2015, its duty-free tariff rate quota for high-quality beef, established pursuant to the MOU between the US and the European Commission regarding the importation of beef from animals not treated with specific growth promoting hormones, at the phase two quantity of 45,000 tonnes/year.

"I am very pleased that American ranchers and meat processors will be allowed to ship substantial quantities of high-quality US beef into a market worth millions of dollars to their bottom lines," said Ambassador Froman. "Before the MOU was signed, the EU's beef market had been largely closed for far too long. The substantial market access that we have achieved since 2009 shows what we can accomplish with practical, problem-solving approaches to trade barriers."

"Since 2009, this agreement has greatly expanded opportunities for US beef producers to export high-quality products to the EU," said Vilsack. "By working together with our EU partners to extend this agreement, we have maintained access to a key market for beef products, and set the stage for further progress. USTR and USDA will continue working closely with our trading partners around the world, including the EU, to further expand trade access for US agricultural products."