For Immediate Release
January 15, 2009 To: Reporters and Editors

 

Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, made the following statement following today’s announcement of U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab that the United States will alter the list of products of the European Union subject to additional duties imposed in response to EU policies on the importation of beef derived from cattle treated with growth-promoting hormones. The World Trade Organization (WTO) determined in 1998 that the European Union’s policy was not based upon science, and was thus in violation of the European Union’s WTO obligations. In 1999, the WTO authorized the United States to retaliate against the European Union by imposing additional duties on EU goods imported into the United States. By adding new products subject to additional duties, and by modifying the coverage to impact particular EU member states, this new list will put additional pressure on the European Union to lift its de facto ban on imports of U.S. beef.

 

“I’m pleased by Ambassador Schwab’s announcement. Year after year, in violation of its WTO obligations, the European Union has continued to ban imports of entirely safe U.S. beef. This same beef is consumed daily by millions of Americans and others around the world and produced by our very own family farmers in Iowa. I hope these updated sanctions will cause officials in Brussels to rethink this policy and eliminate this unjustified barrier to our beef exports.”