020257 EU May Ease Tests on U.S. BeefFebruary 21, 2002Brussels, Belgium - European Union experts recommended lifting stringent testing for U.S. imports of hormone-free beef products, saying recent tests had found no traces of hormones or other banned substances. A senior U.S. trade official welcomed the move, saying it should help set the stage for resolving the much-bigger trans-Atlantic dispute over hormone-treated beef. In a statement, the EU said that U.S. authorities had taken enough precautions and guarantees to ensure that hormones were not present in beef labeled as hormone-free. Currently, around 20% of all U.S. hormone-free beef entering the 15-nation EU is tested, but that will be scrapped and replaced by the same random testing that applies to any other country, officials said. The EU suspended random testing for U.S. beef in 1999 after it found traces of growth hormones in beef labeled hormone-free. The move does not affect the EU's long-running dispute with Washington over the EU ban on hormone- treated beef. A senior U.S. trade official, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that most U.S. beef remains banned, since hormone-free products are only a small "niche" market. But the official said it was important to clear away such issues so that attention can be focused on finding an acceptable solution to the bigger dispute. "We view this as a positive development that would help set the tone for considering a way forward," the official said, adding that talks are ongoing. The United States won a challenge to the ban at the World Trade Organization, which authorized it to apply sanctions to make up for some $120 million a year in lost beef sales. The EU, afraid of a possible health risk, argues that its import ban has been justified by partial results scientific studies.
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