| ||||
|
|
President's statements on reopening Canadian border acknowledge process far from complete
On Nov. 30, during a news conference in Canada, President Bush acknowledged his efforts to reopen as quickly as possible the Canadian border to live cattle, but reportedly cautioned Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin to be aware of the regulatory process the United States must follow before such action can occur.
"The statements made by President Bush today do nothing more than coincide with previous reports that indicate certain procedures must be followed before USDA could lower our current import standards to allow the importation of Canadian cattle into the United States," said Bill Bullard, R-CALF USA CEO.
Bush said his administration is working as quickly as possible to resolve the trade dispute and he also explained that the process, which involves the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), normally takes five to six months.
The Canadian press reported President Bush acknowledged that he did indeed ask OMB to expedite its review of the rule affecting the closure of the Canadian border, and that Bush also told Martin "young cows ought to be allowed to go across our border."
In May 2003, after the discovery of a BSE-positive cow in Canada, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) designated Canada as "a region where BSE is known to exist." Current U.S. rules require imports of cattle and beef be banned from countries with this BSE designation. However, in August 2003, USDA announced an across-the-board exception to the U.S. ban for certain Canadian beef products. Then, in April 2004, R-CALF USA found out USDA had been violating its own rules through the discovery that USDA had allowed millions of pounds of unauthorized beef into the United States.
R-CALF USA and several of the nation's consumer groups have asked the United States to take four scientifically valid steps before making the decision of whether to allow the importation of live cattle and other beef products from Canada:
--Aggressively expand testing in Canada so the actual prevalence of BSE in the Canadian cattle herd can be scientifically determined;
--Commission a scientific study to fully assess of the risks of importing beef and cattle from a country like Canada where BSE is known to exist;
--Identify all Canadian-born cattle that had been imported into the U.S. and test those cattle for BSE before they enter the U.S. food supply;
--Hold public hearings in the U.S. to receive meaningful input from consumers and experts in human health and animal health.
"We are disappointed none of these scientifically based recommendations have been implemented by USDA and we encourage President Bush to first assess the scientific implications of his proposed action before making a commitment to a foreign country that could very well endanger consumers and the livestock industry in the United States," said Bullard.
In May 2004, R-CALF USA was successful in stopping USDA from continuing to allow the importation of unauthorized beef products into the U.S. from Canada.
Since then, USDA has been rewriting the health and safety rules regarding trade with countries affected by BSE, and on Nov. 19, USDA submitted its final proposed rule to OMB for its regulatory review. OMB deemed the rule (titled "Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy: Minimal Risk Regions and Importation of Commodities) as economically significant.
An OMB spokesperson said just because a rule is determined to be economically significant does not mean the rule then automatically goes to Congress for review and/or changes.
OMB has up to 90 days, to fewer than 30 days, to review the rule, although OMB may request extensions to the review time period.
"I would just go with the 90-day rule as a good 'guestimation,'" said the spokesperson.
After OMB's review, the rule is sent back to USDA. USDA will then decide whether to forward the rule to Congress for its input, or whether to publish the rule, as is, in the Federal Register. USDA also determines when the rule will be published and when the rule will go into effect.
The OMB representative also explained that if USDA wants to make any changes to the rule it submitted to OMB, USDA would then need to request an extension.
Copyright 1995-2008. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com
 
| |||||||||||||||||||||
