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News Releases
No. 27/08
March 31, 2008
WTO CONDEMNS US AND CANADIAN SANCTIONS ON EU GOODS IN HORMONE-TREATED MEAT DISPUTE
A WTO panel condemned
US and
Canadian sanctions imposed
on European Union exports in retaliation for EU
restrictions on the import of
hormone-treated meat. The
EU has criticized Canada and the US for unilaterally
maintaining these measures despite the fact that the EU
has subsequently conducted a new
scientific risk
assessment to show that such hormone-treated meat
presents unacceptable risks. Today's panel report has
confirmed that the US and Canada are imposing duties in
breach of WTO rules. The EU therefore demands that the
US and Canada remove their retaliatory measures.
The panel agreed with the EU that the US and Canada have
illegally maintained retaliatory measures after the EU
has adopted new rules on hormone-treated imports in
response to earlier US and Canadian criticism. Despite
these new rules the US and Canada have unilaterally
decided to maintain sanctions without testing the
legality of the EU's rules at the WTO. The Panel agreed
with the EU that this is a clear breach of WTO rules.
The panel also noted that it did not consider the new
EU
hormones directive to comply with the WTO Agreement on
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. The EU disagrees
with those findings, and notes that the panel explicitly
said that it did not have jurisdiction to rule on the
WTO-conformity of the EU Directive establishing the
restriction of hormone-treated meat imports and that its
assessment did not change the fact that the US and
Canada are applying sanctions illegally.
Both sides have the option of appealing the panel
report.
Background
The EU has banned the use of growth-promoting hormones
and the import of meat treated with hormones since the
early 1980s. This non-discriminatory ban was tested at
the WTO by Canada and the US in 1996, claiming it was
inconsistent with WTO rules. The WTO Appellate Body
found in 1998 that the EU rules were not consistent with
parts of the WTO Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary
Measures in as much as the scientific risk assessments
supporting the EU restrictions were not sufficiently
specific. Subsequently the US and Canada requested, and
were granted by the WTO, authorization to impose
sanctions on the EU - a 100 percent import duty on EU
exports to the value of US$116.8 million and CAN$11.3
million. These duties have been applied to a range of
agricultural products and some manufactured goods since
the summer of 1999.
On October 14, 2003, a new EU Directive was adopted,
based on thorough scientific grounding for the EU
restrictions on the use of hormones in raising cattle
and imports of meat treated with hormones. The
scientific risk assessment drew on the 1999, 2000 and
2002 reports of the EU
Scientific Committee on
Veterinary Matters relating to Public Health, which
concluded that for one of the six hormones in question (oestradiol
17ß) there was overwhelming evidence that it causes and
promotes cancer and that it harms genes. The EU has a
permanent ban on the use of this hormone for growth
promotion purposes.
In five other cases (the hormones testosterone,
progesterone, trenbolone acetate, zeranol and
melengestrol acetate), the current state of knowledge of
the hormone substances does not allow the risk to be
accurately determined, but there is substantial evidence
suggesting potential detrimental effects on human
health. Based on this evidence, the EU invokes the
precautionary principle, choosing provisionally
to restrict the use of those five hormones in the EU, as
well as the sale of hormone-treated meat. The EU has
sought to obtain additional information and has kept
this measure under review by scientific experts,
ensuring they reflect the latest scientific research.
The EU notified the WTO of its new measures in November
2003. The US and Canada rejected the EU evidence and
upheld their sanctions. On November 8, 2004, the EU
filed a request for consultations with Canada and the
US, asserting that they should have removed their
retaliatory measures because the EU had provided sound
justification for its restrictions on hormone-treated
meat and that, in any event, the US and Canada were not
entitled to determine the opposite unilaterally. Two WTO
panels were subsequently established. The first hearing
before the panels took place in September 2005 and was
broadcast via closed circuit television, to give free
access to the public. Subsequent hearings with the
parties and with scientists which discussed the harmful
effects of the hormones in question were also public.
On July 18, 2007, the
European Food Safety Authority's
(EFSA)
Scientific Panel published an
opinion which
concluded that there are no grounds to call for revision
of the previous risk assessments, which found risks to
human health from residues in meat of hormone-treated
cattle. The Panel also noted that new data indicated an
association between the large-scale beef cattle
production using hormones and undesirable effects in
wild fish species living in rivers that are exposed to
waste water originating from these farms.
Further Contact Information:
Press and Public Diplomacy
Delegation of the European Commission
2300 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
http://www.eurunion.org/PressRoom
Tel: 202-862-9552
Fax: 202-429-1766
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