NAM criticizes proposed changes in EU poultry regulations.

Press Release Summary:



Commenting on proposed changes in EU regulations on access for imported poultry into EU markets, Shaun Donnelly of NAM said that the Commission is not living up to high-level political commitments to eliminate the non-tariff barrier to U.S. poultry exports to the EU. The long-awaited proposal is fraught with loopholes, delays, reporting requirements, and conditions. It has been acknowledged, even by EU authorities, that there is no scientific basis to continue the decade-long ban.



Original Press Release:



NAM Says European Union Chickens Out of Commitment to Eliminate Poultry Barrier



Commitment to Reduce Non-Tariff Barriers in Doubt

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 30, 2008 - The National Association of Manufactures (NAM) strongly criticized the European Commission's proposal earlier this week regarding changes in European Union regulations on access for imported poultry into EU markets.

"The EC's own announcement of this proposed regulation makes clear that the Commission is not living up to high-level political commitments to eliminate this long-standing non-tariff barrier to U.S. poultry exports to the EU," said Shaun Donnelly, NAM Senior Director for International Business Policy. "We are seriously distressed that this long-awaited EC proposal is so fraught with loopholes, delays, burdensome reporting requirements, and conditions that it undercuts any real liberalization in this important sector.

"But our concerns are far broader and deeper than this important market for U.S. poultry processors and exporters," Donnelly continued. "This back-tracking by the Commission from previous high-level commitments in the U.S./EU Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) and indeed even earlier in the 2002 U.S.- EU Summit meeting, is unacceptable.

"The Commission's apparent inability to follow through on this commitment raises broader concerns about the willingness and ability of the EU to work with the U.S. Government bilaterally and multilaterally to reduce major Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) that are increasingly at the heart of international trade restrictions these days. It has long been acknowledged, including by the EU's own food safety authorities, that there is no scientific basis to continue this unjustified decade-long ban on U.S. poultry to the EU."

The NAM exhorted the European Commission and its member state governments to reconsider the proposed poultry regulation and to move expeditiously and in line with its political commitments in the TEC to take the necessary steps to effectively open its market to U.S. poultry.

The National Association of Manufacturers is the nation's largest industrial trade association, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the NAM has 11 additional offices across the country. Visit the NAM's award-winning web site at www.nam.org for more information about manufacturing and the economy.

CONTACT:
HANK COX (202) 637-3090
SHAUN DONNELLY (202) 637-3142

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