| November 8, 2004,
as reported by just-food.com: This time it is
the EU that will be taking the U.S. and Canada before
for the World Trade Organization challenging ongoing sanctions
by the overseas trade partners over its ban on hormone
beef.
The European Union is questioning the fairness of the
sanctions against it, arguing that it has removed the
measures that were deemed WTO-inconsistent when the
row originally broke out in 1998 leaving no justification
for the continuing sanctions.
“There is no reason why European companies should
continue to be targeted by sanctions when they export
to Canada and the United States. The EU ban on certain
growth promoting hormones is now in full respect of
our international obligations. We have put in place
revised legislation based on a thorough and independent
scientific risk assessment,” said EU Trade Commissioner
Pascal Lamy.
In February 1998, the WTO Dispute Settlement Body ruled
against the EU’s ban on certain growth promoting
beef hormones, deciding that EU legislation at the time
was not based on a proper scientific risk assessment
and the supporting scientific evidence was insufficient.
The EU has worked to eliminate those deficiencies by
basing the new EU Hormones Directive of September 22,
2003 on a full scientific risk assessment that was conducted
over the years 1999-2002. The new directive maintains
the permanent ban on oestradiol 17ß and imposes
a provisional ban on five other hormones (testosterone,
progesterone, trenbolone acetate, zeranol and melengestrol
acetate) because of perceived risks to human health.
On October 27, 2003, the EU notified the WTO that it
had implemented the WTO ruling of 1998 and that Canada
and the US should therefore lift their sanctions. The
North American countries disagreed and refused to lift
their sanctions.
|
