On Monday 6 March, the European Commission welcomed the announcement made by the Chinese authorities on 3 March to lift the ban on imports into China of bovine meat from France.
On Friday, China announced that it intended to lift its embargo on French beef imports for animals aged under 30 months, imposed in 2001 following the mad cow crisis.
The Commission was delighted that, “this success is the result of long-efforts made in European trade diplomacy”. It pointed out that the EU has strict control and monitoring measures in place that guarantee the safety of European bovine meat and that the EU complies with all the international standards applicable.
The Commission added, “The WTO demands the lifting of all bans and restrictions in place throughout the world on EU bovine meat products as soon as possible”. It regretted the fact that member states were still subject to bans and restrictions relating to the presumed risk from bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in many different countries such as China, South Korea and Taiwan but provided assurances that it would continue its efforts for the complete reopening of all these markets. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)