United States and Europe Union BST Beef Trade

The longest running trade dispute between the U.S. and EU deals with trade in beef, specifically U.S. exports of beef treated with growth hormones. Bovine somatotropin (BST) is a naturally occurring growth hormone that can and has been synthesized int he laboratory and injected into cattle to spur milk and meat production.

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It was developed and tested in the U.S. during the 1980s and the corporations who developed it applies for FDA approval for its commercial use in 1987.

After roughly seven years of scientific testing and political fighting, the FDA approved the commercial marketing of BST in late 1993.

From a European perspective, the origins of the US-EU Hormone Issue (U.S.-EU Hormone Dispute) can be traced back to 1981, when the council of the European Union passed a directive (81/602) prohibiting the use of growth hormones. A round of food safety studies did little to quell council concerns about the safety of growth hormone products and in December of 1985 the council opted to ban the use of both the natural and synthesized form and to issue a ban on the importation of foods containing such products.

As the center of the growth hormone world, the U.S. immediately raised concerns about the legality of the ban, and challenged the EU ruling in the GATT. Despite some initial bilateral consultations on the issue, the EU ban went into effect January 1989. Seven years and multiple studies by health organizations around the world did little to quell EU safety concerns, and with the ban still in place, the U.S. government decided to challenge it in the newly formed World Trade Organization. In 1997, the panel charged with investigating the matter rules in favor of the U.S. The EU appealed the ruling, lost and was given 15 months to remove the ban.

By May of 1999, the EU ban was still in place giving the U.S. the right to retaliate. In response to the WTO ruling, the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published a Product List in Beef Hormones Dispute that detailed the specific EU agriculture products that will now be subject to a 100% duty or tax.

© 2001. Patricia A. Michaels