This is a welcome step towards the re-opening of the US market, closed since the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) outbreak in the 1990s.
EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Vytenis Andriukaitis, said: "I
welcome this move as a sign of recognition for our comprehensive and
effective measures to eradicate BSE in Europe. I hope the US will now
act expeditiously to extend the approval to all imports from the EU and I
call on the remaining EU partners who still maintain restrictive
measures to fully adopt recognised international standards."
"In
times when we are working hard to build a new partnership for trade and
investment, keeping old unnecessary obstacles makes no sense. I am glad
we are going in the right direction in this respect and hope that the
Dutch beef producers will be able to benefit from the new market
opportunities very soon," said EU Commissioner for Trade, Cecilia Malmström.
"Opening
the US market...
to Dutch beef provides a further export outlet for our
high quality EU product. Unlocking technical barriers to exports is part
of our diplomatic offensive to drive exports and find new markets for
EU producers," said EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan.
After
Ireland and Lithuania, the Netherlands is the third EU country to gain
access to the US market since the BSE-related ban. The opening of the US
market to Dutch beef sends a positive signal to producers in other
parts of the EU that are still waiting for the end of the
disproportionately strict and lasting US trade restrictions.
Background
The
US market has been closed to EU beef since January 1998, when the US
introduced import restrictions on beef, as well as sheep, goats and
their products, on the basis of BSE concerns.
These measures went
beyond the recommendations of the World Organisation for Animal Health
(OIE) according to which deboned beef, for instance, is safe and can be
freely traded from all countries regardless of its BSE status.
In
addition, according to the OIE evaluation of BSE risk in the EU Member
States – based on standards established in 2005 -, almost all of them
presented not more, and sometimes less risk than most countries in the
world. In other words, EU beef is safe.
The EU guarantees a high
level of food safety for consumers both in the EU and abroad, based on
international standards and solid science. The agriculture and food
sectors should be able to capitalise on this achievement.
