20 July 1999 EU AND USA AGREE MEAT DEAL EUROPEAN Union farm ministers in Brussels yesterday approved a “veterinary equivalency” deal with the USA for animal health and meat inspection rules.

The agreement, which is expected to cut red tape in trade worth in total about £3 billion a year, aims to mutually recognise standards on both sides of the Atlantic. It is also aimed at

reducing trade friction between the two trading blocs such as the recent dispute over hormone-treated beef. The deal includes the principle of regionalisation, whereby a disease outbreak in

one region need not necessarily result in a trade ban for the whole country. The EU has, or plans to have, similar agreements with a number of countries and trading blocs. Those countries