August 30, 2010

Mexico-US beef talks continue despite truck dispute

The ongoing dispute between the US and Mexico over market access for Mexican trucking services will not impair the ability of the two countries to work together to solve other unrelated trade issues, such as US beef exports to Mexico, a Mexican trade official said last week.

The sanitary authorities in both countries are in the process of exchanging scientific information as they discuss US demands that Mexico ease restrictions on imports of US beef, which were imposed to guard against bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), said Beatriz Leycegui, Mexican Undersecretary for Trade.

The US is pressing Mexico and other trading partners maintaining similar restrictions to accept beef from cattle of all ages, especially as the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) has found that the US is a "controlled risk" for BSE. This means that, under OIE guidelines, US beef from cattle of all ages is safe to eat if risk materials are removed.