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R-CALF has Concerns With New FMD Rule

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Anonymous

Guest
CN_Today 1/11/2007 10:23:00 AM


R-CALF: Producers Express Concern About APHIS’ Proposed Argentina FMD Rule



Washington, D.C. – Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) proposed a rule that would – for the first time – recognize the disease status of a subregion of a country and allow fresh and frozen meat from the region to be exported to the United States.



The pending change – published in the Jan. 5, 2007, Federal Register – would declare a portion of Argentina known as the Patagonia South region, free of rinderpest and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).



“This change would allow for the exportation of fresh and frozen meat products – including beef products – from the Patagonia South region to the United States,” said Doug Zalesky, R-CALF USA’s International Trade Committee Chair. “The proposed rule would set an important precedent in the regulation of U.S. meat imports, and may open the door to the certification of additional regions within countries – before those countries have achieved disease-free status at a national level.”



Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) – last diagnosed in the U.S. in 1929 and sometimes called hoof-and-mouth disease – is an acute, contagious, feverish – but usually not fatal – disease of cattle, hogs, sheep, and other cloven-hoofed animals.



Rinderpest, sometimes called cattle plague, is an acute, often fatal, contagious viral disease, chiefly of cattle, characterized by ulceration of the digestive tract, resulting in diarrhea. Rinderpest also affects sheep and is characterized by high fever, diarrhea, and lesions of the skin and mucous membranes.



“USDA’s plans to regionalize FMD zones to enable additional beef exports to the U.S. are of great concern,” said R-CALF USA International Trade Committee Chair Doug Zalesky.



Zalesky has testified before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) regarding R-CALF USA’s opposition to a potential increase in beef imports from free trade agreement (FTA) partners if those partners are able to achieve U.S. disease-status recognition for regions within their sovereign borders and FTA rules fail to include adequate safeguards accounting for such a possibility.



“The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has failed to include adequate rules of origin in previous FTAs with Central American and South American countries that have a problem with FMD, so strong import regulations serve as the last line of defense to prevent the transshipment of cattle from other regions within Argentina that continue to have disease problems into these newly designated FMD free zones for slaughter and export to the U.S. market,” Zalesky pointed out.



“Currently, the majority of Central and South American countries are blocked from exporting fresh and frozen beef to the U.S. because of disease concerns,” Zalesky continued. “While the Patagonia South region has been recognized as FMD-free by the World Animal Health Organization (OIE), current U.S transshipment safeguards regarding FMD have never been tested in controlling cross-regional movement within national boundaries.



“The new rules must be closely scrutinized to ensure that the regionalization of disease-affected countries like Argentina – for purposes of expanding meat exports – does not weaken health and safety protections for our domestic cattle herd,” he emphasized.



Zalesky also is concerned that USDA’s recognition of an FMD-free zone in Argentina could open the door for other Central American and South American nations looking to export beef to the United States.



“The recognition of this subregion begins the process of increased imports from Central and South American countries,” Zalesky explained. “Several times, the proponents of free trade with these areas have argued that the importation of beef from these countries was highly unlikely because of FMD.



“However, this announcement shows that even those countries that only have achieved FMD-free status for subregions within their nations may be able to increase beef exports to the United States,” he said. “USDA’s approach would establish – for a region with more than 250 million head of cattle and continuous disease problems – a beach-head to our domestic beef market.”



To prevent price-depressing import surges, R-CALF USA consistently has maintained the need for safeguards in FTAs, as well as special provisions that cattle and beef be treated as a perishable and cyclical item in bilateral FTAs and at the World Trade Organization (WTO).



R-CALF USA also is concerned with trade liberalization proposals such as this that involve highly contagious foreign animal diseases, and believe it would be premature for the U.S. to allow beef exports from subregions within disease-affected countries.



Public comments on the proposed rule are due by March 6. To submit comments, visit http://www.regulations.gov and select the “Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service” link from the agency’s drop-down menu. In the Docket ID column, select APHIS-2005-0096. To submit a comment by Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery, please send four copies of comments to: Docket No. APHIS-2005-0096, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD, 20737-1238. Please write the docket number in the top right-hand corner of all four copies of your comments.
 

S.S.A.P.

Well-known member
R-CALF USA also is concerned with trade liberalization proposals such as this that involve highly contagious foreign animal diseases, and believe it would be premature for the U.S. to allow beef exports from subregions within disease-affected countries.

And yet Oldtimer, you insisted ............in regards to anap / blue tongue, Canada was being unfair


Oldtimer wrote:

  • .... What makes this similar, but still different to the Canadian Anaplas/Blue Tongue rule is that Canada grouped ALL US cattle in one group-- and said "ALL US cattle are diseased" (no matter if they ran a fence apart from Canadian cattle)

    .... Your flat wrong there Rod-- the US did have restrictions and quarantines on certain states-- But Canada lumped ALL US cattle into one bunch and said ALL US cattle are diseased- even those running side by side with Canuck cows-- a rule that every US Vet and scientist said was idiotic...But most down here saw it for what it was- an artificial trade barrier from a country that did not want FAIR trade....

    .... Yep Rod -Big difference...Anaplas/Bluetongue is found in only a small part of the US- affects only cattle and sheep

    .... I will never forget that Canadians said that cows running fenceline apart from Canuck cows were ALL DISEASED

    .... If I remember correct, part of the argument Canadian producers used for years for the Anaplas/Blue Tongue 10+ years border closure was to protect the health and economic viability of the Canadian cattle and sheep industry...

    .... We know--we lived with the Anaplas/Blue tongue rule and Canadians calling ALL US cattle diseased for years

    .... I also remember they (R-CALF) filed complaints against Canada because they used trade barriers to restrict ALL US cattle from going north with their Anaplas/Blue tongue restrictions .....

    .... except they still haven't dropped all the Blue tongue restrictions

    .... Canada dropped its phony Anaplas/Blue tongue trade barriers against ALL US cattle


.... etc ..... etc
Search: keyword/blue tongue - author/Oldtimer

I ask someone more knowledgable to comment about the exact regulations ... that allowed imports of US cattle into Canada.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
S.S.A.P. said:
R-CALF USA also is concerned with trade liberalization proposals such as this that involve highly contagious foreign animal diseases, and believe it would be premature for the U.S. to allow beef exports from subregions within disease-affected countries.

And yet Oldtimer, you insisted ............in regards to anap / blue tongue, Canada was being unfair

S.A.P. --We weren't the ones running around screaming this is one big North American Herd either ......One big herd until someone from the US wanted to go north :roll: :lol: :lol:
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
This article and the past few days events has to make you wonder if USDA/APHIS was blowing smoke with their mandatory ID demands that it was needed for US herd safety and eradicating disease outbreaks....If they are so concerned about herd safety why are they hell bent to lower the regulations and restrictions on importing beef/cattle from areas all over the world that are higher risk areas :???:

I heard an interview on the radio the other day with a Farm Bureau officer-- apparently at their regional convention they had some USDA/APHIS officials as guests and had put them on the hot seat about the same matter....They were asking-If being able to identify and control disease is so important to the USDA, then why are they not doing much more to control it in their own herds- namely the governments buffalo and elk in Yellowstone Park that are infested with Brucellosis...Instead of continully telling the ranchers to move back- they should be actively controlling this and working toward eradication....

But I suppose their is no Packer lobbyist handing out greenstamps for true animal health control- like they are doing to get foreign beef access.. :roll: :( :mad:
 

Kato

Well-known member
Forget about that old bluetongue issue. The border never was closed because of it, there were just health protocols to follow that made import more complicated. They did not close the border. Now,foot and mouth. This IS a contagious disease. :!:

While everyone is obsessed with stopping cattle from Canada, this slides in the back door. mmmm........

As we've been saying all along, Canada is not the problem. It is however a former ally that has been driven away, and could have helped here. I wonder what our government's policy is on South America? Does anyone know? So far the policy of the CFIA has been pretty agressively on the side of caution. If America allows potentially infected fmd beef in the country, do we close the door to American imported beef? Unlike BSE, this is a disease that can potentially come in to the country on the shoes of the salesman who's selling it.

Does Argentina have an ID system? Can they verify which part of the country the cattle come from? Once the beef is processed, is there a way to tell where it came from? A Cargill plant perhaps? :wink:
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Kato said:
Forget about that old bluetongue issue. The border never was closed because of it, there were just health protocols to follow that made import more complicated. They did not close the border. Now,foot and mouth. This IS a contagious disease. :!:

While everyone is obsessed with stopping cattle from Canada, this slides in the back door. mmmm........

As we've been saying all along, Canada is not the problem. It is however a former ally that has been driven away, and could have helped here. I wonder what our government's policy is on South America? Does anyone know? So far the policy of the CFIA has been pretty agressively on the side of caution. If America allows potentially infected fmd beef in the country, do we close the door to American imported beef? Unlike BSE, this is a disease that can potentially come in to the country on the shoes of the salesman who's selling it.

Does Argentina have an ID system? Can they verify which part of the country the cattle come from? Once the beef is processed, is there a way to tell where it came from? A Cargill plant perhaps? :wink:

Yep- Kato-- and like you say, unless we get some truth in labeling laws involving imported meat, it could come right thru the US and into Canada with a USDA inspected stamp on it and you would have no idea where it came from......

And I agree- Canada is not the problem- it was just the first symptom of a much larger malady- so has caught the most attention.......
 

Manitoba_Rancher

Well-known member
Oldtimer said:
Kato said:
Forget about that old bluetongue issue. The border never was closed because of it, there were just health protocols to follow that made import more complicated. They did not close the border. Now,foot and mouth. This IS a contagious disease. :!:

While everyone is obsessed with stopping cattle from Canada, this slides in the back door. mmmm........

As we've been saying all along, Canada is not the problem. It is however a former ally that has been driven away, and could have helped here. I wonder what our government's policy is on South America? Does anyone know? So far the policy of the CFIA has been pretty agressively on the side of caution. If America allows potentially infected fmd beef in the country, do we close the door to American imported beef? Unlike BSE, this is a disease that can potentially come in to the country on the shoes of the salesman who's selling it.

Does Argentina have an ID system? Can they verify which part of the country the cattle come from? Once the beef is processed, is there a way to tell where it came from? A Cargill plant perhaps? :wink:

Yep- Kato-- and like you say, unless we get some truth in labeling laws involving imported meat, it could come right thru the US and into Canada with a USDA inspected stamp on it and you would have no idea where it came from......

And I agree- Canada is not the problem- it was just the first symptom of a much larger malady- so has caught the most attention.......

You better go lie down OT and warm up a bit I think your getting a brain freeze.... :wink:
 
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