December 05, 2003

 

 

Canada's Single BSE Case Stirs Over Reaction From Foreign Countries, Says OIE

 

Countries that slammed their borders shut to Canadian beef exports after the May 20 discovery of one case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) were overreacting and not following international rules, says OIE, the world organization of human health.

 

In effect, Canada has been penalized for being forthright and transparent. Other countries may take note and decide not to be as open when disease is discovered in their national cattle herd.

 

The Paris-based Office International des Epizooties administers the plant and animal sanitary rules set out for health and safety considerations under World Trade Organization agreements. It has developed a risk assessment code of conduct for member countries.

 

"It is apparent that some member countries are applying trade bans when an exporting country reports the presence of a significant disease without consulting the recommendations in the code or conducting a risk analysis in according with its ... obligations," said the OIE statement.

 

"The existence of a valid up-to-date standard did not prevent major trade disruptions due to a failure by many countries to apply the international standard when developing or revising their import policies."

 

The Canadian government saw it as a vindication for its effort to pry markets open by arguing that the BSE risk is minimal and that Canada has taken all necessary precautions to contain it and to prove the problem is not widespread.

 

"Canadian officials have repeatedly pressed trading partners to base their trade measures on science, consistent with the internationally accepted standards of the OIE," the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said in a statement promoting the OIE warning.

 

"In response, the United States and other countries have partially reopened their borders, yet many trading partners continue to impose trade restrictions contrary to OIE recommendations."

 

Last week, Statistics Canada revealed just how devastating those trade restrictions have been for Canada's beef sector.

 

During the first nine months of the year - half of which fell after May 20 - revenue from the sale of cattle and calves fell by more than $2 billion, which equates to 37%, as compared to same period in 2002. During the third quarter when the export bans were in place, sales revenues fell 73%, from $1.8 billion last year to $500 million this year.

 

The warning from the OIE did not single out Canada as a country that has been treated unfairly in export markets because of domestic disease. Unjustified trade restrictions also followed limited reported outbreaks of BSE in Japan and elsewhere.

 

"Such situations penalize countries with a good and transparent surveillance system for animal diseases and zoonoses and which have demonstrated their ability to control the risks identified through a risk assessment," said the OIE.

 

"This may result in a reluctance to report future cases and an increased likelihood of disease spread internationally."

 

The U.S., Canada and Mexico have asked the OIE to develop new rules to make it clear that isolated and contained outbreaks of disease should not cause major trade disruptions.