US asks for WTO panel on EU poultry curbs

(WASHINGTON) - The United States said Thursday it asked the World Trade Organization to rule on a longstanding dispute over European Union restrictions on US poultry treated to reduce pathogens.

The US Trade Representative's office (USTR) said consultations from an earlier US complaint failed to resolve the issue, and that Washington would ask for a WTO panel to review the case.

"The US poultry subject to the EU ban is safe. There is no scientific evidence that the use of pathogen reduction treatments pose any health risk to consumers," said Nefeterius McPherson, a USTR spokeswoman.

"We regret that formal WTO consultations and significant US engagement over many years have not resulted in the lifting of the EU's ban on the import and marketing of poultry. However, we feel that we must move forward with WTO dispute settlement panel proceedings at this time."

The case involves poultry treated with chemicals, which according to Washington have been judged safe by both US and European food safety authorities.

US officials said the EU in 1997 began blocking shipment of virtually all US poultry on this basis and that talks have failed to resolve the issue.

The initial complaint was filed in January at the WTO and talks in February produced no agreement, the USTR said. The new complaint calls for the establishment of a panel when the WTO Dispute Settlement Body meets October 23.

US officials have asked for EU approval for poultry rinsed with chemicals including chlorine dioxide, acidified sodium chlorite, trisodium phosphate, and peroxyacids to contain microbes.

According to Washington, EU members states voted against a proposal to approve these chemicals but failed to provided a scientific basis.

In Brussels, an EU official expressed dismay over the US action.

"We feel that litigation is not the most appropriate way to deal with complex issues such as this one," said European Commission trade spokesman, Lutz Gullner.

"However, since the US has chosen this path, we will defend our food safety legislation, which does not discriminate against imported products."

The EU says imports of poultry from the US have been "marginal" since 1997, when Brussels removed from its list of authorized slaughterhouses several US establishments.

It says more than 890,000 tons of poultry were imported from third countries in 2008, mainly from Brazil and Thailand.