The European Union has agreed to assure the U.S. gets majority of its annual beef quota after months of negotiations and more than 20 years of friction over the subject of non-hormone beef trade. The EU has pledged to phase in over seven years a new quota protocol that will give U.S. exporters 35,000 metric tons of Europe’s 45,000-ton tariff rate quota for beef from animals that were never treated with growth hormones. It’s unclear how long it will take for the deal to be implemented. The European Commission said Friday that it may take months for it to be finalized after approval by the European Parliament. (Agri-Pulse)