EU members approve mandate to resolve beef dispute with U.S.

European Union member states on Friday formally approved a negotiating mandate permitted the European Commission to examine the operation of a tariff-rate quota on hormone-free beef that is at the heart of a longstanding dispute between the U.S. and EU. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in December 2016 initiated the process to reinstitute tariffs on a host of European goods. The U.S. won a case at the World Trade Organization over the EU’s ban on hormone-treated beef. The...