[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 18, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E995]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           LET THEM EAT BEEF

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                           HON. DOUG BEREUTER

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 18, 1999

  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, this Member commends to his colleagues an 
excellent editorial calling for an end to the European Union's 
irrational and improper beef ban which appeared in the Omaha World-
Herald, on May 12, 1999.

              [From the Omaha World-Herald, May 12, 1999]

                           Let Them Eat Beef

       A showdown between the United States and the European Union 
     over beef exports ought to be unnecessary. The United States 
     has science and the World Trade Organization at its side. 
     European controls on U.S. beef exports have little 
     relationship with provable concerns.
       For more than a decade, the European Union has banned the 
     import of beef from animals that have been fed growth 
     hormones. Such hormones are used in raising more than 90 
     percent of beef cattle in the United States. Their use is an 
     effective way to make cattle grow faster and bigger.
       The Food and Drug Administration has determined the 
     substances safe. The World Trade Organization rule in 1997 
     that the European ban violated international trading 
     agreements. The WTO said the ban was neither supported by 
     science nor justified by any risk assessment. The WTO last 
     year ordered the EU to abandon its policy by May 13, 
     tomorrow.
       A trade war looms unless the EU complies. U.S. officials 
     have threatened to retaliate against European products if the 
     ban, which keeps most American beef out of EU countries, is 
     not lifted. Officials said they would impose 100 percent 
     tariffs on more than $900 million worth of European products, 
     possibly including items such as mineral water, Belgian 
     chocolates and Roquefort cheese. That could effectively price 
     those products out of the U.S. market.
       Trade policy-makers at the European Union have kept U.S. 
     officials going around in circles for a decade. The coalition 
     has made superficial changes designed to give the appearance 
     of compliance with the WTO order. That has staved off trade 
     sanctions in the past. But a free market in U.S. beef has not 
     materialized.
       The U.S. cattle industry estimated that growers have lost 
     export sales of about $500 million annually since 1989, when 
     America began exporting only hormone-free beef to Europe.
       American cattle producers have suggested that the real 
     problem is protectionism. European countries want to insulate 
     their beef producers from U.S. competition. There is also the 
     possibility of scientific ignorance--observers have noted a 
     general European hysteria over mad cow disease and 
     genetically engineered foods such as Monsanto soybeans. Too 
     often, fear has been allowed to trump science.
       American farmers and ranchers are especially efficient. 
     They have invested in research and technology to keep 
     themselves competitive. If the beef trade barrier is allowed 
     to stand, despite science and the WTO, this nation's ability 
     to sell its agricultural products overseas will become more 
     vulnerable to illegal trade barriers, and its export position 
     could be severely damaged.
       The European Union's beef ban is irrational and improper. 
     It risks a trade war that would harm people on both sides of 
     the Atlantic. European consumers should have the chance to 
     decide for themselves the worth and safety of the beef grown 
     by America's farmers and ranchers. They will never get that 
     chance unless their leaders bow to the WTO and lift the beef 
     ban.

     

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