Canada, US-EU Beef Hormone Dispute

Abstract

Citing public anxieties about the use of hormones in livestock production in the 1980s, the European Union (EU) banned the nontherapeutic use of a number of synthetic and naturally occurring hormones in domestic beef production and subsequently banned imports of beef produced using these productivity-enhancing hormones. The US and other beef-exporting nations such as Canada argued that the import ban was not justified on scientific grounds and was instead disguised protectionism. Thus began a long-running and often acrimonious trade dispute between the EU and the USA along with Canada. The trade dispute highlights the challenges of dealing with consumer suspicions of a technology to all intents and purposes deemed “safe,” the conflict between a precautionary principle approach to technology versus a science-based risk assessment approach, and the challenges for the international trade architecture in distinguishing between policies motivated by nefarious protectionism and genuine consumer concerns. At the heart of the ethical dilemma posed by the US-EU beef hormone dispute is the reality that the World Trade Organization (WTO) was not set up to deal with consumers’ demands for protection (who are usually expected to benefit from trade liberalization) – its primary focus traditionally has been demands for protection from domestic producers. The beef hormone dispute proved to be a challenging first test of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism. This essay outlines the origins of the US-EU beef hormone dispute and traces the turbulent history of the dispute through various WTO rulings, responses, and outcomes. The chief arguments put forth by the EU in defense of its beef import ban and by the USA and Canada in challenging the import ban are examined. The ethical issues raised by the trade dispute and potential solutions are explored with reference to key literature on the topic. The essay concludes by discussing the implications for trade policy of the clash between a scientific rationality and a social rationality approach to new technologies.