§ Sir Richard BodyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment his Department has made of the World Trade Organisation hormone panel conclusions; and if he will make a statement. [10203]
§ Mr. RookerThe disputes panel has upheld complaints by the US and Canada about the EU's ban on meat from animals treated with growth promoting hormones, finding it to be inconsistent with the World Trade Organisation agreement on sanitary and phytosanitary measures. The reports cannot be adopted by the WTO until the appeals process has been completed; we expect this will not be before the autumn at the earliest.