Meat Groups Demand Solution For Thorny SPS Problems In U.S.-EU FTA

摘要

Trade associations representing the U.S. meat industry have presented the U.S. government with a list of what they charge are unscientific European Union trade barriers that restrict their exports and which they say have the best chance of being solved in the bilateral free trade agreement that both sides are considering. "The kind of comprehensive free trade agreement that is being actively discussed on both sides of the Atlantic represents the best, and as a practical matter, the only realistic opportunity to eliminate the current incompatibilities between U.S. and EU regulations related to meat and any future regulations that stand to further inhibit transatlantic meat trade," the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) said in its comments. The meat industry's public comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative also insisted that a potential FTA must be structured so that all elements will go into effect at the same time, even if some are concluded earlier than others. Failure to follow this "single undertaking" approach would likely mean that the trade barriers faced by the U.S. food and agriculture sector will be unresolved, they said.