P. M. BRIEFING : U.S., European Stand-Off Eased

A dispute between the United States and the European Community over an EC ban on imports of hormone-treated meat eased today, with Washington ending some trade sanctions imposed in response to the ban.

The decision to remove sanctions on EC ham products worth $300,000 yearly followed a successful shipment this month of hormone-free U.S. veal offal to the EC, U.S. Trade Representative Carla Anderson Hills said in a statement.

“This relatively small U.S. retaliation reduction came in response to a correspondingly small shipment this month of U.S. veal offals to the EC,” Hills said.

The United States in February imposed punitive tariffs on about $100 million worth of EC food imports in retaliation for the EC hormone ban that affected a like amount of American exports, mostly of low-quality beef.

The shipment and subsequent easing of U.S. sanctions mark the first concrete steps in easing the dispute, but Hills said it was not over. “We continue to believe that the EC’s ban on meat produced with hormones is entirely unjustified,” she said.