European Union (EU) countries Monday approved the agreement reached last month between the EU and U.S. that would give the U.S. a larger share of the 45,000-tonne hormone-free beef tariff rate quota (TRQ) into the EU. The two trading partners expect tosign the measure “at the earliest possible date.”
The agreement will see the U.S. share of the import quota rise to 35,000 tonnes over seven years.
"The TRQ will continue to cover only products complying with EU's high food safety and health standards," the EU Council said in a release.
The agreement between the two needed other hormone-free beef suppliers to the EU to okay the increase in the level reserved for the U.S.
The hormone-free beef TRQ was established in the wake of the U.S. winning several WTO challenges on the EU ban on imports of beef produced with growth hormones.
The situation has its roots in the late-1980s when the EU first banned imports of beef produced with growth hormones.
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