US Revises EU Beef Import Rules

Washington confirmed on Friday that it will be issuing new import rules for beef and other bovine products in the coming days, in a move that is expected to end a fifteen-year ban on cattle products from the 28-nation EU. The new rule, announced by the US Department of Agriculture, is set to take effect 90 days after being published in the US Federal Register.

The US market has been closed to EU beef - along with sheep and goats - since 1997 due to concerns about mad cow disease, a neurodegenerative condition known scientifically as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). The disease can be transmitted to humans who eat parts of an infected animal.

Brussels has long argued that the ban went beyond what was required by international standards, such as those determined by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).Under the new rule, restrictions on beef imports will be lifted if a country is found to have a “negligible risk for BSE,” a status determined by the OIE. Products that pose more of a risk may still be restricted.

Washington and Brussels officials alike welcomed the decision, with Debbie Stabenow - who chairs the US Senate panel on agriculture - calling it a “crucial” move in prompting other countries to lower their own trade barriers in this area.

The US - one of the world’s largest importers and exporters of beef - has itself faced numerous restrictions in exporting its own cattle products, due to previous outbreaks of BSE. Just last year, the US briefly suffered another scare after a cow tested positive for the disease; however, the case appeared to be an isolated incident, due to a rare mutation rather than feed contamination. The OIE has since deemed the US as being at “negligible risk” - its safest classification - for BSE.

The news comes at a time where Washington and Brussels are in the early stages of negotiating a bilateral trade pact, with food safety issues expected to be one of the issues on the regulatory agenda.