03-03-2005, 12:55 PM
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#19 (permalink)
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Poison
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Quote:
WASHINGTON - Canada's cattle industry suffered another blow Thursday after American senators voted to quash the U.S. department of agriculture's policy to reopen the border to Canadian beef next week.
INDEPTH: Mad Cow Disease
Despite the Senate's 52-46 vote, the White House said U.S. President George W. Bush would veto the measure if it ever reaches his desk. Bush favours the reopening of the border.
The U.S. banned Canadian cattle imports in May 2003 when mad cow disease was discovered in a Canadian cow.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said he was disappointed with the Senate vote.
"Today's action undermines the U.S. efforts to promote science-based regulations, complicates U.S. negotiations to reopen foreign markets to U.S. beef and would perpetuate the economic disruption of the beef and cattle industry," he said in a release.
"I will now work with the U.S. House of Representatives to prevent passage of this resolution, which is strongly opposed by the Bush Administration, and continue our aggressive efforts to reopen international markets to U.S. beef."
The Senate vote follows Wednesday's ruling by U.S. district Judge Richard Cebull. He granted an American beef lobby group an injunction to stop the resumption of imports of Canadian cows under 30 months of age.
Cebull issued a 30-page judgment outlining the reasons behind his decision to grant the injunction.
FROM MARCH 2, 2005: U.S. court blocks Canadian cattle
He says that dropping the ban on Canadian cattle will attach a "stigma" to all U.S. meat unless consumers can distinguish between products from the two countries.
"Once the Canadian beef is allowed to intermingle with U.S. meats, it will open a flood of speculation," Cebull wrote.
"Neither the contaminated meat nor the stigma associated with contaminated meat could be removed from the U.S. cattle industry and the substantial, irreparable injury will have occurred."
The injunction resulted from a lawsuit filed by the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA), which is trying to block the U.S. Department of Agriculture's plan to reopen the border to cattle younger than 30 months on March 7.
The group argues that the move would cause producers immediate and irreparable damage.
In his decision, Cebull says the USDA had a "preconceived intention" when it declared Canada a "minimal-risk" region for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE.
The judge says the department rushed to resume trade "regardless of uncertainties in the agency's knowledge of the possible impacts on human and animal health."
"Deference cannot be given to any agency that has made the decision to open the border before completing the necessary scientific analysis of risks to human health. The USDA cannot favour trade with Canada over human and animal health within the U.S."
Agriculture officials haven't responded to the court decision, which gave both sides 10 days to set a trial date.
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