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Europe Opens Up To U.S. Beef

published: May 28th 2009
by: Mateusz Perkowski
source: Capital Press

Europe has agreed to accept a lot more non-hormone-treated beef from the U.S., but as rancher Corrine Lindsay can tell you, getting your product across the Atlantic is no simple feat.

As part of a deal struck May 13 between the U.S. and the European Union, 20,000 metric tons of non-hormone-treated beef can be shipped to Europe duty-free for the next three years.

In the fourth year, the amount would increase to 45,000 metric tons at zero duty.

For U.S. ranchers to take advantage of the agreement, they must be enrolled in the USDA's Non-Hormone Treated Cattle Program, which Lindsay officially joined last September after jumping through hoops for more than a year.

"It's pretty slow stuff," said Lindsay, who raises cattle in Lexington, Ore.

Just because she's finally enrolled doesn't mean Lindsay can rest easy. Lindsay must pay for twice-yearly USDA audits of her ranch and regularly submit affidavits from feed and nutrition suppliers, attesting the operation does not use any products containing hormones.

"If one paper is missing, the whole set (of cattle) can't go to Europe," she said, noting that USDA verifies hormone-free status from birth to slaughter. "The Europeans can rest assured they are getting exactly what they want."

Her slaughter options are also limited, since the closest processing plant enrolled in the program is located in Omaha, Neb.

"It can get very costly," Lindsay said.

Although the program is arduous, Lindsay said she's optimistic that expanded duty-free beef exports to Europe will help her customer - a premium international beef supplier - become more cost-competitive on that continent.

Under a previous agreement between the U.S. and the European Union, only 11,500 metric tons of non-hormone-treated beef could be exported per year, and the meat was subject to a 20 percent tariff.

The most recent agreement temporarily resolves a trade dispute between the U.S. and the European Union over beef treated with growth-promoting hormones.

Beef treated with hormones is barred from entering Europe, even though the World Trade Organization ruled last year that the ban is not based on science.

In retaliation for the prohibition, the U.S. intended to imposed additional tariffs on a number of products from Europe.

As part of the deal, those tariffs may not be imposed, and duties in place since 1999 may be phased out in four years.

The agreement is a win for U.S. beef producers, particularly since they gained nothing from the additional duties on European imports, said Erin Daley, economist for the U.S. Meat Export Federation.

"This offers another opportunity for a niche market," she said.

For the time being, ranchers like Lindsay will be the only ones to feel any direct impact from Europe's increased openness to U.S. beef, Daley said.

"Near term, it's probably going to be those producers already enrolled," she said.

However, if enrollment in the USDA program becomes more profitable, word will spread and more ranchers will likely participate, Daley said.