American farmers deserve to have foreign countries live up to their trade agreements.
The EU has had more than sufficient time to recognize the equivalency of our inspection system. Now is the time to reach an agreement or take certain retaliatory action against the European Union. Grassley said U.S. cattle, pork and poultry producers have been fighting this trade barrier for more than 10 years. In a letter to Barshefsky, Grassley specified that the administration should act against the EU's exports of meat to the United States if no agreement on this issue is reached with the EU by April 1. Furthermore, Grassley stated that if the USTR failed to respond as necessary, he would work for immediate consideration by Congress of legislation he introduced in January with Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle.