The EU’s ban on imports of poultry and poultry products from the US is to stay, at least for the time being, EU agriculture ministers have decided.
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The ban dates back to 1997 and arises out of the widespread US practice of cleaning chicken carcasses with a chlorine wash.
Washington claimed that there is no evidence that the process is harmful to human health and the European Commission has urged lifting of the ban.
However, a clear majority of EU member states this week agreed that the prohibition should stay. The cash value of the lost sales is not large – about US$200m a year – but the issue is of symbolic importance for EU/US trade policy.
