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The EU and the US appear poised for another damaging trade war after the World Trade Organisation (WTO) this week cleared the way for Washington to level tariffs on $116 million worth of European Union products. The latest dispute involves the EU's 11-year ban on hormone-treated beef imports from the US. Irish exporters are certain to get caught in the crossfire between Brussels and Washington; the final list of affected products has still to be finalised but it appears that some £10 million worth of Irish exports including pork and bacon products, cereals and confectionery, are at risk. Other EU products, including ham, poultry, French cheese and possibly some industrial goods like motorcycles, could also be affected. Brussels claims that the use of such hormones in US beef represents an unacceptable health risk to EU citizens but the WTO, the arbitration body in international trading disputes, does not agree. The WTO has formally ruled that there is no scientific evidence to justify Brussels' concerns. But the EU refuses to comply with the WTO decision until it has completed its own scientific tests.

This week, WTO arbitrators ruled that the ban had resulted in $128 million a year in lost trade for the US and Canada, just over half what the two countries said was required to compensate them for the ban - but still much higher than the $40 million EU estimate of lost trade. In recent days, US officials have been in bullish mood: Ambassador Peter Scher, Special Trade Representative, has warned that the EU must now pay a price for its unjustified ban. He expects US "retaliation" to be in place by the end of this month.