Meat dispute will be resolved—U.S.

Press, 29 December 1988, Page 10

Meat dispute will be resolved —U.S.

NZPA-Reuter Washington The White House is defending the United States decision to retaliate against a European Community ban on imports of hormone-treated meat but says the dispute will eventually be resolved. “The European Community are our allies. We’re major trading partners. We have had occasional trade disputes (but) we have a framework within which to resolve them, and there’s no reason to believe this one won’t be resolved as well,” a White House deputy press secretary, Leslye Arsht, said. At the same time, Arsht defended the United States announcement that it would impose punitive 100 per cent tariffs on SUSIOO million (SNZISB million) worth of E.C. exports to the United States in retaliation for the hormone ban. Both the ban and the American retaliation are scheduled to take effect January 1. “We obviously feel that we must be aggressive in the trade positions that we have taken,” Arsht told reporters accompanying President Reagan during his California vacation. Under the retaliation plan, import duties will be

increased to 100 per cent on canned tomatoes and tomato sauce, wine coolers, instant coffee, boneless beef, fruit juices, certain pork products and pet food from E.C. countries. E.C. officials say they are imposing the ban in response to its citizens’ concerns about the hormones’ possible health effects. They say they will meet United States retaliation with counter-retalia-tion. United States officials say the hormones, used by cattle producers to hasten and increase beef production, are safe. They say the E.C. ban is a disguised trade barrier, and will interrupt about SUSIOO million in annual meat trade with the E.C. The American officials have threatened to expand retaliation to cover all E.C. meat exports to the United States. The United States may be aggressively contesting what is a relatively minor trade issue in part to bolster its case against agricultural subsidies and trade barriers, said trade analyst Fred Sanderson. American meat exports to the E.C. represent less than 0.01 per cent of U.S.E.C. trade.