WTO decision helps Canada
Word leaked out May 7 that the World Trade Organization was about to turn thumbs down on the European Union’s practice of barring beef imports from countries that use synthetic growth hormones.
The first reported reaction came from the United States, which hailed the interim ruling as a victory for freer trade.
The Canadian beef industry will also benefit from the WTO ruling, if indeed the final decision expected in July follows the interim ruling.
Dennis Laycraft, executive vice-president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, was updated on the situation in a conference call with Agriculture Canada and trade officials on May 16.
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Under terms of the WTO process he couldn’t reveal the details of the ruling. But he had a very happy tone to his voice as he discussed the background.
In the 1980s, despite a quota and high tariffs, Canada was developing a profitable niche market in Europe for high quality beef and for edible offal products.
But in 1989 the Europeans imposed a ban on beef from cattle fed growth hormones, in spite of their own scientific panel challenging the claims of health safety concerns.
Once the WTO was in operation, Canada and the United States challenged the ban, arguing the safety concerns were a disguise for a protective non-tariff barrier.
Laycraft said Canadian representatives presented “overwhelming scientific evidence that the products used are safe and naturally the beef products are safe and have gone through thorough and vigorous risk assessment.”
It appears the WTO accepted the argument and has ruled it is not enough to ban imports merely because of perceived health safety concerns among consumers. The danger must be scientifically proven and the ban must be necessary to protect the public.
Although there is the chance of appeals and delays in implementing the WTO decision, Laycraft thinks a major precedent has been set.
The benefit for Canadian beef producers will probably be gradual.
There is still an 11,000-tonne beef import quota that Canada shares with the United States, but that will probably be addressed in the next round of international trade talks that start in 1999.
In the meantime, although Asia will remain the primary area for market development, Canada will try to regain the momentum in Europe that was building.
“There is a huge potential for high quality beef there,” Laycraft said.
