WHAT'S THE BEEF?
By William E. Sheeline

(FORTUNE Magazine) – Estrogen watchers, take note: Three ounces of steak from a cow implanted with growth hormones contains 1.9 nanograms of estrogen. If that sounds like a lot, it's not. Three ounces of soybean oil has 1.68 million nanograms of the stuff, naturally grown at that. All of which is to say that the European Community's ban on imports of beef from cattle injected with growth hormones ignores overwhelming scientific evidence that the hormones are completely safe if properly implanted. To the Europeans, however, science alone does not public opinion sway. ''No matter what the scientists say,'' notes Derwent Renshaw, an agricultural attache with the EC in Washington, ''I'm afraid we Europeans prefer to eat our meat free of hormones.'' The ban, which took effect on January 1, shut the door on at least $100 million of U.S. beef exports. A tit-for-tat response by the U.S. hit home on the same day -- 100% tariffs on imports from the EC valued at about $100 million, including tomato products, boneless beef, hams, instant coffee, and wine coolers. The EC may counterattack this month with 100% tariffs on imports of walnuts and dried fruit -- valued at $97 million -- from the U.S. Rumors abound that Washington would counter with a ban on $450 million worth of red meat imported annually from the EC, since growth hormones are used illegally by some cattle growers there. So far, this is all small potatoes compared with the annual $150 billion transatlantic trade total. It just could be that other issues lie behind the squabble. For one thing, EC has a beef surplus of more than 450,000 metric tons, which is expensive to store. In addition, Europeans resent U.S. proposals at the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade discussions in Geneva that all trade-distorting subsidies should be removed. But nobody in the U.S. wants a major trade rift. Says Cary Walker, a spokesman at the U.S. Trade Representative's office: ''We intend to stand up for the rights of American exporters, but we don't want to see an escalation of the dispute.'' The EC agrees, and a temporary truce is in the offing.