New Duty-Free Access for Canadian Beef in European Union Market

November 23, 2010

Ottawa – Canadian beef producers will now have duty-free access to the European Union market; access which is estimated to be worth more than $10 million annually for Canada. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Minister of International Trade Peter Van Loan made the announcement today after successfully completing extensive negotiations between Canada and European Union (EU).

“Industry and Government have been working very hard to get increased access to the EU market,” said Minister Ritz. “The access to this quota was a priority for our industry and therefore it was a priority for this Government. This is a tremendous deal that will help Canadian producers make their living from the market place.”

The arrangement will provide duty-free access to a 20,000-tonne quota for beef exports to the European market and the Canadian Beef Export Federation estimates this new duty-free access could be worth more than $10 million a year for Canada.

“This is a continuation of our role in expanding beef exports to alternative markets,” said Menzies, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and Member of Parliament for Macleod. “Duty-free access to 20,000 tons means more money in the pockets of beef producers.”

The Government of Canada has also just finalized a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the European Commission, which sets the path towards the resolution of the longstanding WTO dispute between Canada and the EU on beef hormones. This understanding will ultimately add 3,200 tonnes to the current 20,000-tonne quota and provides compensation for the EU’s ban on beef from animals administered growth hormones.

Under the terms of this MOU, Canadian access to this most-favoured nation quota is for beef from animals not administered growth hormones that comply with the relevant EU import requirements. Beef from animals treated with growth hormones is approved for use in Canada. The Canadian beef industry is able and willing to immediately meet the lucrative EU market demand for hormone-free beef.