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Today 4/13/2005 6:29:00 PM
R-Calf Cattle Update: McDonnell Says That They Don't Want Canadian Beef Co-Mingled
(Billings, Mont.) – Going into effect on Saturday is an official agreement between the United States and Taiwan that will allow the U.S. to begin shipments of boneless beef to that nation, a customer that had been the sixth largest market for U.S. beef before an import ban on all U.S. beef, live cattle and related products was imposed in 2003, after a BSE-positive cow of Canadian origin was discovered in Washington state.
"Just like Egypt – a nation that reopened its market to U.S. beef in recent days – Taiwan is emphatic that it wants only beef derived from cattle younger than 30 months of age, slaughtered in the United States," McDonnell said. "And while product from third countries can be exported to Taiwan – those countries have to be eligible to export to Taiwan – which indicates the Taiwanese do not want any beef from countries affected by BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy).
"That means they don't want Canadian beef co-mingled with our U.S. exports," McDonnell emphasized. "We're happy Taiwan and Egypt are back on board as export customers, and we're also glad they're not caving in to political pressures from Washington."
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has argued in its Final Rule on BSE minimal-risk regions that lifting the ban on Canadian imports would help convince other countries of the safety of both U.S. beef and Canadian beef.
"Let's put things in perspective," McDonnell continued. "Our export customers are demanding more risk mitigation measures of U.S. exports than what USDA's Final Rule – if implemented – would require if Canadian beef were allowed into the United States. Common sense tells you that USDA could very well be jeopardizing these new trade agreements with Egypt and Taiwan, and future agreements with other countries, if the Final Rule is put in place. Fortunately, the current injunction against USDA has reassured our foreign customers that U.S. producers are serious about maintaining our historically conservative firewalls to keep BSE out of the United States."
Taiwan requires that certain Specified Risk Materials (SRMs) be excluded from U.S. beef products exported to Taiwan: brain, skull, eyes, trigeminal ganglia, spinal cord, most parts of the vertebral column, dorsal root ganglia, tonsils, and the distal ileum of the small intestine – even from cattle under 30 months of age.
"USDA's Final Rule would allow all Canadian beef products from cattle 30 months of age and younger to be imported into the United States," McDonnell pointed out. "The only restriction in the Final Rule on SRMs requires that just the tonsils and small intestines be removed. All other SRMs would be allowed, and segregation of older cattle in slaughter or processing plants is not required in the Final Rule at all."
Taiwan prefers that the U.S. slaughter plants producing the beef for export be dedicated exclusively to production of beef products from animal younger than 30 months of age, and that do not use imported beef products. For Taiwan to accept beef products from slaughter plants that do process older cattle and/or import beef products, those facilities must be registered participants in USDA Agriculture Marketing Service's Beef Export Verification (BEV) program.
"If the United States were to accept beef from Canada, the U.S. would automatically have lower food-safety standards than what our export customers demand on the U.S. beef they want to consume," said McDonnell. "For USDA to continue to disregard the product demands of our foreign customers is irresponsible, and the agency is not only risking the possibility of keeping other export markets closed in the near-term, but also jeopardizing the United States' long-term ability to export to any countries at all.
"R-CALF has said all along that it doesn't make sense to believe that countries will readily reopen their borders to U.S. beef just because the USDA decides to lower its import standards for countries known to have BSE – specifically Canada – and thereby, increasing the risk of exposure to BSE," he concluded.
R-Calf Cattle Update: McDonnell Says That They Don't Want Canadian Beef Co-Mingled
(Billings, Mont.) – Going into effect on Saturday is an official agreement between the United States and Taiwan that will allow the U.S. to begin shipments of boneless beef to that nation, a customer that had been the sixth largest market for U.S. beef before an import ban on all U.S. beef, live cattle and related products was imposed in 2003, after a BSE-positive cow of Canadian origin was discovered in Washington state.
"Just like Egypt – a nation that reopened its market to U.S. beef in recent days – Taiwan is emphatic that it wants only beef derived from cattle younger than 30 months of age, slaughtered in the United States," McDonnell said. "And while product from third countries can be exported to Taiwan – those countries have to be eligible to export to Taiwan – which indicates the Taiwanese do not want any beef from countries affected by BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy).
"That means they don't want Canadian beef co-mingled with our U.S. exports," McDonnell emphasized. "We're happy Taiwan and Egypt are back on board as export customers, and we're also glad they're not caving in to political pressures from Washington."
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has argued in its Final Rule on BSE minimal-risk regions that lifting the ban on Canadian imports would help convince other countries of the safety of both U.S. beef and Canadian beef.
"Let's put things in perspective," McDonnell continued. "Our export customers are demanding more risk mitigation measures of U.S. exports than what USDA's Final Rule – if implemented – would require if Canadian beef were allowed into the United States. Common sense tells you that USDA could very well be jeopardizing these new trade agreements with Egypt and Taiwan, and future agreements with other countries, if the Final Rule is put in place. Fortunately, the current injunction against USDA has reassured our foreign customers that U.S. producers are serious about maintaining our historically conservative firewalls to keep BSE out of the United States."
Taiwan requires that certain Specified Risk Materials (SRMs) be excluded from U.S. beef products exported to Taiwan: brain, skull, eyes, trigeminal ganglia, spinal cord, most parts of the vertebral column, dorsal root ganglia, tonsils, and the distal ileum of the small intestine – even from cattle under 30 months of age.
"USDA's Final Rule would allow all Canadian beef products from cattle 30 months of age and younger to be imported into the United States," McDonnell pointed out. "The only restriction in the Final Rule on SRMs requires that just the tonsils and small intestines be removed. All other SRMs would be allowed, and segregation of older cattle in slaughter or processing plants is not required in the Final Rule at all."
Taiwan prefers that the U.S. slaughter plants producing the beef for export be dedicated exclusively to production of beef products from animal younger than 30 months of age, and that do not use imported beef products. For Taiwan to accept beef products from slaughter plants that do process older cattle and/or import beef products, those facilities must be registered participants in USDA Agriculture Marketing Service's Beef Export Verification (BEV) program.
"If the United States were to accept beef from Canada, the U.S. would automatically have lower food-safety standards than what our export customers demand on the U.S. beef they want to consume," said McDonnell. "For USDA to continue to disregard the product demands of our foreign customers is irresponsible, and the agency is not only risking the possibility of keeping other export markets closed in the near-term, but also jeopardizing the United States' long-term ability to export to any countries at all.
"R-CALF has said all along that it doesn't make sense to believe that countries will readily reopen their borders to U.S. beef just because the USDA decides to lower its import standards for countries known to have BSE – specifically Canada – and thereby, increasing the risk of exposure to BSE," he concluded.
