EU Agrees to More Beef From U.S. Cattlemen

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – U.S. cattlemen will be able to export more beef to the European Union (EU) after the European Parliament approved an increase in US beef imports. This move is expected to ease transatlantic tensions, according to a report from Reuters. The EU’s latest decision comes after a resolution was passed in the European Parliament, where a majority of members voted in favor of the plan to allow more beef imports from the United States. The plan will allow US farmers a larger share of an existing 45,000-ton quota beginning next year. The new ruling is expected to ease tensions and settle disputes which arose in 1981 after the EU barred the use of growth hormones in meat across the 28-nation bloc, including in imports. In 2009, the EU and the US reached an agreement to allow a quota for hormone-free beef imports, which currently stands at 45,000 tons. Under the terms of the revised deal, US farmers will have an initial 18,500 tons than other nations. The new trade agreement must be approved by the other beef supplying nations.