March 24, 2004

Canada, US Set For Mad Cow Talks

Canadian Agriculture Minister Bob Speller will arrive in the U.S. Wednesday this week "to discuss the latest developments on mad cow disease with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman" according to an announcement made Tuesday by Canada's embassy here.
 
Canada announced its discovery of a case of mad-cow disease, last year on May 20. The U.S. reported a case seven months later on December 23.
 
The U.S. banned all Canadian beef and cattle in May, but eventually began allowing in some beef under tight restrictions. The U.S. still has not lifted its ban on Canadian live cattle, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture is currently going through a rule-making process to change that.
 
Canada, in reaction to the U.S. case of BSE, did not erect a complete ban on beef and cattle, but new regulations have sharply limited trade.
 
Talks between the two countries on how to get U.S. beef and cattle shipments flowing back into Canada are ongoing, according to U.S. and Canadian government officials.
 
Speller is also scheduled to speak Thursday morning at the Sparks Companies Inc. annual agriculture conference in Washington.