U.S. chicken ban up for EU review
Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008
European Union regulators agreed to urge EU governments to drop a decade-long ban on U. S. chicken imports after a meeting between the world’s largest economies.
The European Commission, the EU’s Brussels-based executive, will propose changes to rules that bar the use of chlorine in poultry cleaning products, opening the European market for American chicken exporters, the two sides said in a joint statement Tuesday. Governments in the 27-member EU, which have voiced opposition to lifting the ban, will decide on any changes.
The poultry ban is seen by U. S. officials as a test case on lifting EU trade and other regulatory barriers. Lifting the trade restriction would be good news for Springdale-based Tyson Foods Inc., which could grow its international chicken business through direct shipments to the EU.
“I’m quite confident that given the political importance of it, that there will be a solution in due time,” European Commission Vice President Guenter Verheugen told journalists at a news conference in Brussels on Tuesday.
The Transatlantic Economic Council, which was announced by President Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel last year, met for a second time to seek common approaches to safety regulations for everything from electronics to cosmetics. “We’re encouraged the European Union is considering a more science-based approach in their position on U. S. poultry,” Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson said in a statement. “While we’re hopeful the market will reopen soon, we realize these matters are not typically resolved overnight. If and when the market does reopen, we believe our company will be able to take advantage it.” Chicken exports to the EU could be worth about $ 200 million if all trade barriers were lifted, said Richard Lobb, a spokesman for the National Chicken Council, a Washington-based lobby group.
Toby Moore, a spokesman for the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council in Stone Mountain, Ga., said the sale of chicken to Europe has declined as the EU has grown.
That’s because countries like Poland and Romania, which were added to the EU after the ban took effect, had to abide by the EU’s trade rules to become member states.
“Those are like $ 30 [million ] or $ 40 million markets,” Moore said Tuesday. “We are hopeful that this will actually finally be resolved. The signs are looking more like it will be.” Dan Price, assistant to the president for international economic affairs, said the commission proposal will be made before a summit meeting between Bush and his European counterparts in June in Slovenia. The goal is for U. S. chicken exports to start by October, he said.
“Obviously, more work than making a proposal needs to be made,” Price said. “We were gratified that the commission confirmed their intention to work with the council and the Parliament in support of moving rule changes through the legislative process.” Verheugen said he’s aware of EU opposition to lifting the ban expressed at a recent meeting of farm ministers.
“We are well aware we need to convince the legislators,” he said. “When it comes to the final decision it will be taken at the level of the head of governments and they’ll see the balance here.” Annual trans-Atlantic bilateral trade is worth $ 961 billion, the commission said. Resolving regulatory problems would represent $ 10 billion in savings, Verheugen said.
The two sides also pledged to reduce differences in insurance rules, resolving frictions including U. S. state requirements for European reinsurers to post collateral. Information for this article was contributed by David Irvin of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
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