BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - Agriculture officials in North Dakota worry that a federal proposal to increase cattle and beef imports from Canada might harm U.S. trade relations with other countries.
"If they're not going to take our beef because we're taking (older) Canadian beef, then I think we need to re-evaluate the whole thing," said Wade Moser, executive vice president of the North Dakota Stockmen's Association.
Canadian beef and cattle imports have been restricted to animals younger than 30 months because older animals carry a higher risk of having mad cow disease. The Agriculture Department is now proposing to allow imports of Canadian beef and cattle 30 months and older. Live animals that are imported for breeding and slaughter in the United States must be born on or after March 1, 1999.
Moser said the Stockmen's Association would like assurances that if there is a problem in the future with an older cow imported from Canada, it will not hurt the U.S. industry.
"Canada has to take full responsibility, and our trading partners have to recognize that as a Canadian cow and not penalize the U.S. industry," he said. "I don't know how easy that is to do."
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Moser and state Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson wonder if bringing in older Canadian cattle might hurt U.S. efforts to expand overseas markets.
"If we open the border as this rule proposes, it seems extremely likely that our risk level is going to immediately go to the same level as Canada," which has had more mad cow cases, Johnson said.
"We've had lots of issues with (South) Korea and Japan in trying to get our market back there," he said. "I can't imagine (this proposal) is going to do anything but make that more difficult."
Both Japan and South Korea have imposed bans on American beef in the past because of worries about mad cow disease, and then later lifted them.
