Posted April 29, 2014
The comment period recently closed for USDA’s Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) proposed rule to allow fresh beef imports from 14
Brazilian states. The proposed rule has
mixed reviews from those in the agricultural industry, according to a Drovers
article available here. Feedstuffs and Farm Futures also reported on
the story here
and here.
The American Meat Institute (AMI) and the American Farm
Bureau (AFBF) submitted comments in support of the rule, but the National
Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the National Farmers Union (NFU) oppose the proposed rule.
The proposed rule, available here, would
allow an average of 40,000 metric tons of beef from Brazil to be imported to
the U.S., increasing total U.S. beef imports by less than 1 percent, according
to APHIS. APHIS also estimates that the
wholesale price of beef, the retail price of beef, and the price of cattle (steers)
would decline by 0.11 percent, 0.4 percent, and 0.14 percent, respectively.
The NCBA voiced its concern that the risk of potential
introduction of foot and mouth disease (FMD) into the U.S. is too great,
saying. “While NCBA supports import rules based on scientifically informed
principles and consistent with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)
guidelines, NCBA does not support the proposed rule by USDA APHIS to import
fresh beef from the Region in Brazil into the United States. We have significant concerns regarding the
willingness, committed resources, and infrastructure of Brazil to consistently perform
adequate risk management in order to mitigate the risk for the introduction of
FMD into the United States…”
APHIS completed a risk analysis based on site visits to
the proposed export regions in 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008, and 2013, but the NCBA
argues that APHIS did not review all factors for animal health status during
each of its visits. APHIS “concluded in
its risk assessment that Brazil had protocols in place to quickly detect and
eradicate FMD if necessary.”
The United States has not had a case of FMD since 1929.
For more information on international trade, please
visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
