U.S. seeks WTO panel in EU poultry dispute

U.S. seeks WTO panel in EU poultry dispute    The United States has asked World Trade Organization to set up a dispute settlement panel regarding the European Union’s ongoing restrictions on U.S. poultry imports.
   The United States specifically wants the panel to review the European Union’s ban on the import and marketing of poultry processed with pathogen reduction treatments (PRTs), which are judged safe by U.S. and European food safety authorities.
   “We regret that formal WTO consultations and significant U.S. engagement over many years have not resulted in the lifting of the EU’s ban on the import and marketing of poultry,” said Nefeterius McPhearson, a spokeswoman for the Office of U.S. Trade Representative, in a statement late last week. “However, we feel that we must move forward with WTO dispute settlement panel proceedings at this time.”
   Requesting a panel is the next step in the formal WTO dispute settlement process. The United States and EU held consultations on Feb. 11.
   The PRT dispute has been brewing since 1997, when the European Union began prohibiting the use of PRTs to reduce microbe levels on poultry carcasses sold in the EU, stopping the shipment of virtually all U.S. poultry.
   The WTO Dispute Settlement Body will consider the U.S. request to establish the panel at its next meeting on Oct. 23.