(GENEVA) - The World Trade Organisation on Monday ruled that the European Union, United States and Canada all failed to respect global trade rules in a long-running row over beef treated with growth hormones.

The EU was at fault because its present justifications for an import ban -- which were revised after a previous WTO ruling -- were not backed up by scientific evidence, the WTO said.

The US and Canada meanwhile did not follow WTO procedures strictly by maintaining retaliatory measures against Brussels, the global trade body found in a report.

The case goes back nearly 10 years to 1998 when the WTO ruled Washington and Ottawa could slap higher tariffs on a list of EU products after it condemned Brussels for banning beef producing with certain growth-promoting hormones -- used by the US and Canada -- without a scientific assessment of the risk.

The EU had contested these sanctions, saying that they were no longer justified because it had found a new scientific basis for banning hormone-treated beef and had updated its law in 2003.

Brussels then filed two fresh complaints against the United States and Canada for maintaining their retaliatory measures.

However, in its report on Monday, the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body said that "the scientific evidence evaluated did not support the conclusions in the EU risk assessment.

"We conclude that it has not been established that the EU has removed the measure found to be consistent" in the initial ruling, the WTO panel said.

The WTO also said Canada and the United States should have re-submitted their complaints in the wake of the 2003 update but that since the EU was still not in compliance, Ottawa and Washington were not deemed to have violated their own WTO commitments.

The penalties, in the form of customs tariffs, amount to 116.8 million dollars (74 million euros) for the United States and 11.3 million dollars for Canada.

They target a host of products including French Dijon mustard and Roquefort cheese.

The EU says its ban is based on a study that found consumption of a particular type of growth hormone was harmful to human health.

The EU put a brave face on the ruling, saying: "Today's panel report has confirmed that the US and Canada are imposing duties in breach of WTO rules."

Noting that the panel also said it did not consider the new EU hormones directive to be in line with WTO sanitary measures, Brussels said in a statement that it "disagrees with these findings."

Both sides have the option of appealing the ruling, the EU noted.

US Trade Representative Susan Schwab welcomed the ruling, deeming it an "important victory for all US farmers and ranchers.

"The findings confirm the principle that mesasures imposed for health reasons must be based on science," Schwab said in a statement.

"It is high time for the EU to come into compliance with its obligations on this matter," she added.

Canada also welcomed the report and urged the EU to lift its ban.

"The WTO has once again sided with Canada by confirming that the ban is inconsistent with the EU's international trade obligations," International Trade Minister David Emerson said in a statement.

"This ruling once again shows that Canada is playing by the rules and delivering safe, healthy food to markets around the world," Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz added.

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