15 July 2009

 

 

 

Following on a May agreement relating to their long-running dispute over trade in hormone-treated beef, the U.S. and the European Union have identified a number of other issues on which they hope to find solutions in the coming months through intensified bilateral engagement.

 

During a July 13 meeting in Washington, D.C., U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and European Union Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton said the memorandum of understanding on beef “underscored that even disagreements that have persisted for many years can sometimes be set on a course towards resolution through pragmatic, problem-solving approaches.” As a result, the two sides reported that during this week’s meeting they:

 

• discussed steps they could take to facilitate the lifting of EU emergency measures requiring all U.S. shipments of long-grain rice to be tested prior to entering the EU for the trace presence of a             biotech rice product approved in the U.S. but not the EU and agreed to continue discussions on this issue in the coming weeks;…

 

• agreed to initiate a practical dialogue on the trade implications of chemicals regulation in the U.S. and the EU and directed their staffs to discuss the substantive agenda and format for this dialogue in the coming weeks;…

 

• discussed the continuing efforts of the EU and other WTO members to reach agreement on the terms of the EU’s banana import regime.