The U.S. and the European Union announced May 6 that they have reached an agreement in principle on a short-term solution to their long-running dispute over the EU’s ban on imports of hormone-treated beef. Under this agreement the U.S. will not revise the list of EU products subject to retaliatory duties, which it had planned to do as of May 9. As a result, higher duties will not be imposed on the following products.

• certain meat, decorative foliage, oats, chewing gum, chocolate, pears and peaches from EU member countries
• certain frozen meat of swine from Finland, France, Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden
• certain chestnuts and wool grease from France
• certain fruit juices and juice mixtures from Austria, Cyprus, France and Poland
• certain mineral waters from Italy

In addition, the retaliatory duty on certain Roquefort cheese from the EU will not be increased to 300%.

The U.S. has also agreed not to impose new sanctions on EU products during the initial three-year period of the agreement, to eliminate all sanctions during the fourth year, and to refrain from further litigation on this issue at the World Trade Organization for at least 18 months.

In return, the U.S. will receive increased duty-free access to the EU market for beef produced from cattle that have not been treated with growth-promoting hormones. This access will amount to 20,000 tons for each of the first three years and will rise to 45,000 tons in the fourth year.

Before the end of the four-year period, the two sides will seek to conclude a longer-term agreement
.