NCBA APPLAUDS ESTABLISHMENT OF PANEL TO REVIEW EU HORMONE BAN

WASHINGTON, May 21, 1995 -- The National Cattlemen's Beef
Association (NCBA) applauds the decision by the Dispute Settlement
Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to establish a panel to
review the European Union's (EU) ban on U.S. beef produced with growth
promotants.

     "This panel moves us another step closer in a process to resolve
an unfair political barrier, which costs the U.S. cattle industry $250
million each year in sales," said Mark Armentrout, NCBA International
Markets Committee chairman, Roswell, Ga.

     The panel will hear arguments of both sides and report its
findings around the end of this year, according to the USDA and the
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.  The United States filed a
complaint with the WTO on Jan. 26, the first step in the WTO dispute
settlement process, asserting that the ban is a violation of the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

     Last year, Codex Alimentarius, an influential scientific body
established by the Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health
Organization to protect the health of consumers and facilitate
international trade in foods, set Maximum Residue Levels (MRL) for
five growth promotants used by the U.S. beef industry.  In addition,
the Scientific Conference on Growth Promotion in Meat Production in
Brussels last year clearly established the worldwide, scientific
consensus that growth promotants are safe and should not be used as
trade barriers to meat imports, according to Armentrout.

     The GATT agreement established the WTO to regulate trade between
its member countries, and the formation of the WTO was a top reason
for NCBA's support of its passage, Armentrout said.

     "The issue is about more than sending U.S. beef to the EU.  It is
a test of the EU's commitment to fair trade and their willingness to
play by the same rules as the rest of the world," Armentrout said.

     The NCBA, a result of the merger between the National Cattlemen's
Association and the National Live Stock and Meat Board, is a consumer-
driven, producer-directed organization representing all segments of
the beef industry.

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