| OU 360 | June 4, 2001 |
USDA REMOVES MEAT IMPORT RESTRICTIONS
FOR
CERTAIN EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES
P.J. Rathwell, Extension Ag. Economist
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on May 25, 2001 that it is removing the imposed March 13, 2001 import restrictions on certain European Union countries, following the completion of a scientific risk assessment performed by the USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
The restrictions are being lifted for the following EU countries where no cases of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) have been reported in recognition that FMD has not spread to: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Span and Sweden.
Total U.S. imports of meat and meat products from the EU were 86.7 million pounds with a reported value of $294.4 million. Denmark is the largest exporter of meat and meat products to the U.S. It accounts for over two-thirds of the volume and value of total shipments. Total value of products from countries now not affected by the ban is $251.3 million dollars.
Import restrictions will remain in effect for the following countries: the United Kingdom, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Greece, where there have been confirmed cases of FMD in recent months. The status of these countries continues to be evaluated and requires further risk analysis, evaluation and site visits.
Although USDA has lifted import restrictions for certain EU Member States that are unaffected by the current FMD situation, stringent measures continue to be taken to reduce the risk of FMD entering the United States.
These stringent measures include prohibiting shipments of products from high risk countries, increasing personnel at ports of entry, tightening regulatory enforcement, increased surveillance of incoming passengers and cargo, enhanced monitoring and surveillance of domestic livestock, strengthening federal, state and industry coordination, and implementing public education campaigns and dispatching experts to the United Kingdom to assist in containment efforts.
The lifting of restrictions associated with FMD does not alter other restrictions already in place on ruminants and ruminant products to prevent the introduction of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) into this country.
FMD is a highly contagious and economically devastating disease of ruminants and swine. The US has been free of FMD since 1929. FMD is one of the animal diseases that livestock owners dread most because it spreads widely and rapidly and because it has grave economic consequences. Humans are not susceptible to FMD.
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Clemson University Cooperating with U.S. Department of Agriculture, South Carolina Counties, Extension Service, Clemson, South Carolina. Issued in Furtherance of Cooperative Extension Work in Agriculture and Home Economics, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914.
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