Mr Moore welcomes hormone ban delay

Press, 21 November 1987, Page 14

Mr Moore welcomes hormone ban delay

Wellington reporter The news that the European Community has decided to defer introducing its proposed hormone ban for a year has been welcomed by the Minister of Overseas Trade, Mr Moore. New Zealand had formally asked the E.C. Agricultural Ministers for a transitional period, and they had agreed. He said other countries had also sought a delay in introducing the ban. But New Zealand remained concerned that the E.C. was seeking to use veterinary legislation

to implement a ban that was technically unjustified on public health grounds. There were also a number of areas where the E.C. had still to define clearly the implications of the proposed ban for third countries exporting meat to the E.C. New Zealand had also been particularly concerned that it was not faced with a situation in January, when it was proposed to implement the ban, where some members of the E.C. implemented the ban but others did not, Mr Moore said. That would have made

life very difficult for New Zealand meat exporters as well as meaning the E.C. was in contravention of G.A.T.T. rules on nondisciminatory treatment of third country trade. Mr Moore was very pleased to learn that E.C. Ministers had had similar concerns and had made it mandatory for all member states to apply the transitional arrangements. For New Zealand trade, it meant that for the next 12 months the status-quo would prevail and there would be no change to the testing or certification requirements. for meat