U.S.-EU Poultry Dispute.pdfVIP

U.S.-EU Poultry Dispute Renée Johnson Specialist in Agricultural Policy December 9, 2010 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 R40199 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress U.S.-EU Poultry Dispute Summary In January 2009, the outgoing Bush Administration escalated a long-running dispute with the European Union (EU) over its refusal to accept U.S. imports of poultry treated with antimicrobial rinses. Bush officials requested World Trade Organization (WTO) consultations with the EU on the matter, a prerequisite first step toward the establishment of a formal WTO dispute settlement panel. The U.S. poultry industry supported the WTO filing by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and encouraged the Obama Administration to continue to further pursue the case. In February 2009, the United States and the EU held consultations. In October 2009, the USTR further asked the WTO to establish a dispute settlement panel regarding the EU’s restrictions on imports of U.S. poultry. The United States has asked the panel to review whether the EU’s ban on the import and marketing of poultry meat and poultry meat products processed with pathogen reduction treatments (PRTs) judged safe by the United States and also by European food safety authorities is consistent with the EU’s WTO obligations. As of December 2010, a WTO dispute settlement panel on the case had not yet been composed. Nevertheless, the USTR and poultry industry officials remain interested in moving forward on this case. Even if the case advances to a dispute resolution