Brussels, 03/07/2009 (Agence Europe) - It may have soothed the trade friction between the EU and the United States, but the transatlantic agreement of 6 May on hormone-treated beef (see EUROPE 9896 and 9903) is worrying agricultural exporting third countries, which fear that the arrangements were designed in such a way as to reserve access to the Community market only for American meat. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Uruguay have expressed their concern to the WTO and have asked the EU to ensure that the agreement will be implemented in a non-discriminatory way. The agreement provides for a new quota of 20,000 tonnes of high quality beef - fresh, refrigerated or frozen - in return for which Washington has undertaken to reduce the level of its sanctions against a number of European agricultural products put in place as reprisals for the ban on the import of hormone-treated beef into the EU. The European Commission has until 3 August to determine how to satisfy all parties: this is the date for the opening of a new quota which, in theory, is for all third country beef suppliers. In a statement to the WTO Dispute Settlement Body, Uruguay says that the definition of meat contained in the EU-US memorandum of understanding corresponds only to categories of meat exported by the United States. Similar fears have been expressed by the other countries mentioned above. At this point, the EU has given assurances to its partners at the WTO that beef meeting the criteria for high quality meat will be eligible for inclusion in the quota, whatever its country of origin, on condition that it complies with European food sector legislation. (E.H./transl.rt)