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Europe's Responds to U.S. Over Beef

© Bryan Johnson

Some years ago, the European Union, citing health concerns over the U.S. use of growth hormones in cattle, acted to prevent U.S. beef from entering European markets. The issue raised to a near trade war on several occasions. In the end, the two sides have always been able to reach, albeit temporary, agreement.

Yet, a few years ago, just as the World Trade Organization was opening shop, the dispute erupted into the international arena. The WTO, established in the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, was meant to act as a forum in which trade disputes could reasonably be discussed and trade wars could be averted.

Last month, the WTO, like it has done most of the time, ruled in favor of the U.S. in this beef dispute. This does not mean that Europe would be forced to accept U.S. beef. What it means is that the U.S. could respond to Europe's protectionism with a little protectionism of its own. And that is exactly what the U.S. did when it imposed 100 percent duties on a range of European imports this month.

Some reaction from the newspapers in Europe:

1) "A few weeks ago, Serbia discovered what happens to people who try to resist the United States of America. The president consults senior senators, sorrowful words are expressed about the necessity for action and, thwupp, your economy is blasted to smithereens. Europe, which was generally supportive of America in Kosovo, is now learning that same lesson. The bombs may not be lumps of computer-guided ordnance, but they are almost as destructive. This time, it is a trade war and the collateral damage is jobs. The United States is angry with the sovereign nations of Europe because we have said we do not want their chemically enhanced beef. This is not gastronomic preference. The European position is based on scientific doubts about the growth hormones the U.S. pumps into its cattle. In response, the Americans are now threatening some of the little guys of European business. The choice of goods is intentionally random and aimed at minnows. The Americans are not interested in appearing fair about this. It is international negotiation by terror."

-- Express -- by Quentin Letts, July 14, 1999.

2) "Generous America, which so brilliantly chased the Indian tribes during the conquest of the West, is now trying to force Europe which revels in its millennial history and its proud culture, to kneel down. What's public health worth compared to the dollar? That's the right question. If the health of the consumers presented the least interest, powerful America would have the means to produce products of quality that would be harmless. Money has no smell, but it can also make fun of flavors."

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