US Takes Action Against EU's Unfair Treatment Of US Beef Industry, Reinstates Retaliatory Tariffs

US Takes Action Against EU's Unfair Treatment Of US Beef Industry, Reinstates Retaliatory Tariffs

The United States Trade Representative’s office announced yesterday that the US is poised to begin the process to reinstate tariffs on goods and products from the European Union in reaction to the EU’s unfair treatment of US beef. Farm Director Ron Hays spoke recently with Kent Bacus, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s director of international trade. He says if the EU would hold up its end of the bargain struck back in 2009, we wouldn’t be in this situation.

“In 2009 the United States and the European Union signed a memorandum of understanding in which the US would temporarily suspend retaliatory tariffs on European goods,” Bacus said. “In exchange for that, the US beef industry would have duty-free access of upwards to 45,000 metric tons for beef from non-hormone treated cattle.”

This agreement was made in the hopes that a bridge of trust could be built over time between US beef producers and European consumers, opening further market access down the road. Unfortunately, Bacus says the EU has failed to live up to their end of the deal.
“They have allowed other countries to access this quota and as a result, we have seen the US market share drastically decline,” Bacus said. “So the question becomes, ‘how can we fix this?’”