BRUSSELS, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission has reached an agreement in principle with the United States that 35,000 tonnes of European Union's quota to import hormone-free beef will be allocated to the U.S., phased over a seven-year period, the Commission said here in a statement on Friday.

"The Commission shared today with member states the successful outcome of the negotiations to review the functioning of an existing quota to import hormone-free beef into the EU (European Union)," the statement said.

The agreement still needs to be approved by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament in the coming months.

The EU and the U.S. have a long-standing dispute in the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding the use of certain growth-promoting hormones in beef production.

In its proposal to the Council in September last year, the Commission suggested to allocate to the U.S. a part of the existing quota that is also available to exporters from other countries.

At present, the EU has an annual import quota of 45,000 tonnes of non-hormone produced beef.