Officials have agreed that the U.S. will not impose sanctions on EU food products, which were to be enacted this week. In return, the EU has pledged to buy more high-quality U.S. beef.
The dispute has stemmed from the EU’s refusal to import hormone-treated U.S. beef. Europe claims that one of the hormones causes cancer and that others pose a health risk. The U.S. says that beef from hormone-fed cattle is safe. Under the new agreement, EU will import 20,000 additional metric tons of non-hormone-treated beef for three years, expanding to 45,000 metric tons of beef in the fourth year. Currently, it allows 11,500 metric tons imported per year. In return, the U.S. will maintain its existing sanctions on European-imported goods and will not expand them.