The National Farmers Union and U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) are calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to not allow for the importation of beef from Northern Argentina. The USCA says, “The health of the U.S. cattle herd is the USCA’s primary concern. The U.S. has maintained a status of FMD-free (foot-and-mouth disease) by the World Health Organization for decades; to put this status and the safety of our herd in jeopardy requires an in-depth and lengthy process, focused on producer and industry input. U.S. producers do not take the issue of FMD lightly and neither should the administration.”
The USDA’s Animal Health and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS) issued a proposed rule in 2013 that would allow regions in Northern Argentina to resume imports of beef products into the United States. Last year, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) had asked the USDA to withdraw the proposal.
