ABSTRACT
In July 1999, the U.S. government decided to get tough with the countries of the European Union (EU), slapping 100percent tariffs on $1 16.8 million worth of European imports, including fruit juices, mustard, pork, truffles, and Roquefort cheese. The European offense was its refusal to revoke a ban on the import of meat treated with growth hormones-a refusal that defied a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling that the ban was an unfair barrier to U.S. and Canadian beef exports. The EU insists the ban is not an intentional trade barrier at all, but only a prudent response to public concern that eating hormone-treated beef might cause cancer and other health problems. As of December, the EU had refused to back down.1
