U.S. Cattlemen's Association opposes opening borders to Paraguayan beef

Published May 30, 2023

Tridge summary

The U.S. Cattlemen's Association (USCA) has voiced strong opposition against a proposal by the USDA APHIS to permit the importation of fresh beef from Paraguay, citing concerns over the health of the domestic cattle herd, potential market losses for U.S. producers, and lower production standards in Paraguay. A USDA APHIS report predicts annual losses for U.S. producers ranging from $12 million to $23 million due to increased Paraguayan beef imports. The USCA maintains that the proposed rule should be immediately recalled due to concerns about Paraguay's animal health and food safety protocols, and the potential risk of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) introduction into the U.S.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

The U.S. Cattlemen's Association (USCA) wrote in strong opposition to a proposal by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) to allow the importation of fresh (chilled or frozen) beef from Paraguay. In its comments, USCA cited several reasons why it opposes the proposed rule, including the need to protect the health of the domestic cattle herd, the estimated U.S. producer market losses and the lower standards of production in Paraguay. Specifically, the Regulatory Impact Analysis that accompanied the proposed rule estimated that U.S. producers would suffer losses of $12 million to $23 million each year due to the increase of Paraguayan beef imports. The risk analysis also fully admits that "...a vaccinated herd may not mean all the animals in the herd are FMD free. This may result in beef from an infected animal being imported.” USCA president Justin Tupper issued the following statement: "The nearly ten-year gap since the last ...

Source: Provisioner