January 13, 2004

USDA Holds Mad Cow Meeting For Trade Partners

The U.S. Department of Agriculture held a meeting Monday for trade partners as part of ongoing efforts to show importers what the U.S. is doing in response to the case of mad-cow disease discovered here in December.

High-level USDA and Food and Drug Administration officials briefed over 40 foreign representatives from countries such as Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Chile, Guatemala and Sweden.

USDA Undersecretary J.B. Penn, one of the U.S. officials who spoke at the closed-door meeting, said afterward that the U.S. is making progress in regaining its beef export markets.

About 50 countries, including Japan, South Korea and Mexico, banned U.S. beef after the BSE discovery was announced Dec. 23.

As a result, the USDA has slashed its 2004 beef export forecast by 90% to just 220 million pounds, down from the 2.6 billion pounds forecast a month ago.

Penn pointed to the fact that a Japanese delegation met with USDA officials last week and a Mexican delegation will do the same this week as optimistic signs that "things are happening" in the USDA's effort to reopen trade.

The Mexican delegation arrives in the U.S. Monday for three days of talks leading up to a visit by Mexican Agriculture Secretary Javier Usabiaga Friday.

Usabiaga is scheduled to meet both USDA Secretary Ann Veneman and Canadian Agriculture Minister Bob Speller together at USDA headquarters.