Office Of US Trade Representative Taking Action Against EU Trade Practices

The Obama Administration announced the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is taking action against the European Union’s (EU) trade practices that discriminate against U.S. beef imports.Acting on the request of the U.S. beef industry, USTR has scheduled a public hearing and is seeking public comments in connection with the EU’s ban on most U.S. beef products. If the trade action resumes, the United States would reinstate industry-supported tariffs on a list of EU products imported into the United States. USTR is seeking comments addressed to the possible effects of reinstatement on U.S. consumers and small- or medium-sized businesses. "The WTO determined that the European Union's ban on U.S. beef imports violates its international trade obligations," said Ambassador Michael Froman. "The EU has failed to live up to assurances to address this issue, and it's now time to take action. Today's action holds the EU accountable and is an important step in encouraging the Commission to come back to the table to ensure that American ranchers have access to Europe's market and that European consumers have better access to high-quality U.S. beef."In 1998, the EU lost a case at the WTO for banning American beef. In 2009, the U.S. negotiated an agreement to allow a modest degree of market access for specially-produced beef that meets the EU's standards, but that agreement, according to USTR, has not worked as intended. In recent years, the U.S. beef industry has been prevented from gaining the intended benefits from the agreement because of increased imports under the duty-free quota from non-U.S. suppliers.The European Commission had argued that this issue should be resolved through the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP). USTR argues, however, that since EU stated in September that they did not view the completion of T-TIP this year to be possible, it is now time to take action.The U.S. beef industry exports an average $6 billion per year. These exports produce an estimated $7.6 billion in economic activity and support 50,000 jobs nationwide.“For several years we have been asking the EU to fix an agreement that is clearly broken, despite its original promise to provide a favorable market for U.S. beef,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.An interagency committee of trade experts and economists will participate in the hearing and review public comments on the particular products and EU member States that may be subject to the imposition of additional duties, with the goal of resolving this dispute. Complete information on the submission of comments is set forth in a Federal Register Notice that is published today on the USTR website.