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Farm Bureau wants EU market fully open to U.S. beef

The American Farm BureauFederation is disappointed that the recent provisional agreement between the U.S. and the European Union did not fully open the EU market to U.S. beef.

The EU agreed to nearly quadruple duty-free imports of hormone-free U.S. beef over the next three years. The EU currentlyallows 11,500 metric tons of hormone-free beef per year with a 20 percent duty. The agreement will allow an additional 20,000 metric tons of hormone-free U.S. beef duty-free. In three years that increases to 45,000 metric tons annually duty-free.

Farm Bureau President BobStallman says the stickler is that the EU is allowed to restrict imports to hormone-free U.S. beef. He says that’s inconsistent with science-based decision making and world trade rules.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is less critical of the development.

“This isn’t going to be any great salvation here, or guarantee us any new business,” said NCBA Chief Economist Gregg Doud from his office in Washington, D.C., “but it does definitely give us a new distinct, duty-free marketplace if folks so choose to be involvedwith it.”

Doud refers to the decision as an accommodation.