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Negotiators discusss compromise on EU beef hormone ban

Trade negotiators from the U.S. and European Union are in discussions related to the EU’slong-standing ban on U.S. beef exports from cattle raised with growth promotents.

Thad Lively of the U.S. Meat Export Federation says the discussions represent a potential breakthrough in the long-running dispute.

“What’s happened recently isthat our government has decided to change the list of products that they’re blocking,” Lively explains, “and that’s resulted in some new discussions between the two governments about whether there are ways to resolve this dispute and move forward.”

Lively saysa compromise measure would keep the hormone ban in place, but would provide trade relief that may allow the U.S. to export a higher volume of beef into Europe.

“What we’re looking at here is the possibility of greatly increasing our access to the European market forbeef,” he says, “and that has a lot of value to the U.S. industry.”

However, Lively says the time for reaching a compromise is running short. The new retaliation measures against the EU are scheduled to start on April 22.