Brussels, 23/04/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 23 April 2009, the United States announced that they are further delaying stronger sanctions against various EU products, including French Roquefort cheese, in retaliation against the EU ban on imports of hormone-treated beef. The revised customs duty rules were initially scheduled to come into force on 23 March 2009. This was initially postponed until 23 April and will now be introduced on 9 May 2009. The EU and the US are still seeking a compromise in the dispute over hormone-treated beef (see EUROPE 9857). In a press release US Foreign Trade Secretary Ron Kirk said: “The US will delay the trade action until May 9 to provide a little more time to negotiate a settlement with the EU. The EU has demonstrated seriousness in their efforts to solve this problem, and two additional weeks should be sufficient to establish whether we can address the remaining issues successfully.” The European Commission explained in a press release that EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton had spoken with Ron Kirk by telephone and agreed to continue talks to seek a negotiated solution. Baroness Ashton said: “We have agreed today that our senior officials will hold further talks with a view to finding a negotiated solution to the long-running dispute over hormone-treated beef. We are both aware that this is a difficult issue that affects businesses and consumers in both the European Union and the United States. We want to overcome those difficulties, and we believe that a solution is within reach that will benefit both sides”. (E.H./transl.fl)