The United States has lifted an eight-month ban on the import of French foie gras, hams and other luxury cold meats, the French Agriculture Ministry said on Sunday.
The ban was imposed in February after several meat plants failed U.S. inspections, prompting angry French demands for proof that its facilities were not up to standard. “The United States are now again allowing the import of foie gras and other products based on charcuterie (cooked meats),” a spokeswoman for the Agriculture Ministry said.
Farms Minister Herve Gaymard announced the decision at the start of an international meeting on food which opened its doors in a suburb north of Paris, she said.
France challenged the U.S. ban, imposed at a time of strained trade relations between the European Union and Washington over U.S. export tax breaks, at the World Trade Organisation.
But the spokeswoman said the United States had lifted its restrictions following fresh hygiene checks over the past month at plants that failed the original inspections. France exported 123 tons of foie gras last year, of which between 4 and 5 percent went to the United States.