On Wednesday 18 January, just ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump taking up office as president, the European Commission stated that it would not renounce its embargo on beef treated with hormones.
"The EU has fully complied in letter and spirit with the memorandum of understanding that was signed with the US in 2009 establishing a hormone-free beef quota of more than 60,000 tonnes. The termination of this agreement and the possible application of duties on EU exports would certainly constitute a most unfortunate step backwards in the strong US trade relations that we hope will continue on the same basis", Enrico Brivio, a spokesperson for the Commission, told press, but giving assurances that the Commission was "ready" to listen to any concern that the US administration may wish to raise.
"The EU is committed to keep its high food safety and health standard and only products complying with these standards will be allowed in the European market. Changing the EU ban on beef treated with hormones was never part of the negotiations with the US for a free trade agreement", Brivio said.
Before handing over, the administration of outgoing US President Barack Obama put the thorny issue of the dispute with the EU over hormone-treated beef back on the negotiating table at the end of December 2016, warning that Washingtom could relaunch the battle that has been ongoing at the WTO since 1999 against the European embargo.
Accusing the EU of not respecting the commitments taken as part of the 2009 agreement, and threatening to re-establish its retaliation measures (customs duties on various European products such as roquefort cheese, mustard or truffles), the office of outgoing US Trade Representative Mike Froman announced on 22 December the launch of proceedings obliging the EU to give account and return to the discussions table.
Judging that the negotiations for an EU-US free trade agreement (TTIP) should have started and that the delay taken in the discussions forced it "to move on to the proceedings", the Obama administration launched a public consultation which could result in trade sanctions being re-established.
Malmström looking forward to discussions with Trump administration. Before Trump takes up office as president on Friday 20 January, European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said on 17 January that she is "looking forward" to starting discussions in order to relaunch the TTIP negotiations with the new US administration.
"The economic and strategic rationale for an agreement between the world’s two largest advanced industrial economies remains strong. In the past three years, significant progress has been made towards concluding a balanced and high-standard agreement that boosts growth, improves competitiveness and creates jobs on both sides of the Atlantic", the Commission says in its press release, emphasising the joint report published by the Commission and Obama administration, which assesses the progress made in the TTIP negotiations since they started in July 2013 and after 15 rounds of technical level talks (see EUROPE 11705). (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)