EU cautious over mad cow fright

The spectre of the 1990s BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) crisis means the European Union is likely to reject US demands it ease strict food safety rules, even with President Donald Trump threatening car tariffs if EU countries do not start importing more US farm products.

With European food and farming exports to the United States worth up to $12 billion a year more than imports, US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue told the EU last month it should adapt its food regulations to reflect “sound science”. Europeans who remember BSE, nicknamed mad cow disease, will not accept any lowering of food standards.