EU Compliance with the WTO Decision on the Hormone Ban 
                                              Release No. 0116.98

Statement
                                
                              of 
             Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman
Regarding EU Compliance with the WTO Decision on the Hormone Ban 
                         March 13, 1998
                                
 "Today's announcement by the European Union that it will not live up to
its international commitments regarding the WTO decision on its ban on meat
from animals treated with growth-promoting hormones is a deep disappointment
to the U.S. cattle industry and to all of us who believe that the integrity
of our trade agreements matters.

 "Just last week, at meetings in Paris, the hormone ban was a major focus
of my discussions with Franz Fischler, Commissioner for Agriculture for the European Union.   I
stated that the only action that will bring the EU into full compliance with the WTO decision is lifting the ban.

 "The scientific evidence is overwhelming that the use of these hormones
to promote animal growth presents no risk to human or animal health.  The
EU's own scientific reviews have confirmed this fact, and the EU has already
had the opportunity to present its case to the world body.  Last summer, an
impartial WTO dispute-settlement panel of experts found that the EU hormone
ban had no scientific basis and was inconsistent with its obligations under
the WTO Sanitary-Phytosanitary Agreement.   The EU then appealed that
finding and lost when the WTO Appellate Body upheld the basic finding in
mid-January this year.  

 "The WTO dispute-settlement process has run its course, and the EU must
honor its obligations and present a plan to reopen its market.  Today's
announcement that the EU intends to conduct yet another risk assessment is
nothing more than a delaying tactic and a blatant misrepresentation of the
findings of the Appellate Body.    

 "U.S. beef producers have waited for a decade for the EU to lift this
unjustified ban.  It is time for EU officials to explain precisely how and
when they will implement the WTO recommendation to remove the hormone ban. 
The U.S. expects nothing less."
                                
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