Trade Wars - US, EU and China

Article 133 (ex-Article 113) - Article 133 of the EC Treaty allows the European Union to negotiate, conclude and implement trade agreements with other countries of the world. It is therefore at the foundation of the European Common Commercial Policy. It states that: 1. The common commercial policy shall be based on uniform principles. 2. The Commission is the negotiator, responsible for conducting trade negotiations on the basis of "directives for negotiation" given by the Council to guide the Commission …

…to decide whether they want to eat American beef". Meat would not be labeled "hormone-treated" under the plan, leading to the EU's rejection of the offer. Annual EU and US agricultural trade is worth an estimated $16bn to $18bn (£9.6bn to £10.8bn). As well as the beef dispute, the import of genetically modified foods grown in the USA threatens to become yet another flashpoint between the US and Europe.