STRASBOURG – The European Parliament approved a deal that would effectively end a decades-long dispute between the European Union, and both the United States and Canada over hormone-treated beef, according to Reuters.

The dispute dates back to 1988. The EU banned all imports of hormone-treated beef, and the US and Canada retaliated by imposing sanctions of $125 million annually on a variety of European products. The deal, struck in 2009, allowed the EU to maintain its ban on hormone-treated beef, but the US would gradually lift its trade sanctions in exchange for sharp increases in European imports of hormone-free beef. The US lifted import duties on all European luxury food items in May 2011.