What's a little artificial fattening between friends? When the twelve-nation European Community banned the import of hormone-treated beef last January, claiming possible health hazards, American cattle ranchers were furious. They saw it as merely a protectionist maneuver to keep nearly $100 million in U.S. beef each year out of European shops. The U.S. Government retaliated by slapping 100% tariffs on a variety of E.C. exports worth roughly $100 million a year.
| Some feared that the battle could escalate into a full-blown trade war. But tempers cooled last week when the two sides reached an interim agreement. The U.S. is resuming...