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TORONTO - Canada, which two years ago was prohibited from exporting its cattle to the United States after a mad cow scare, has no intention of closing its borders to U.S. beef after Washington announced that a cow tested positive there, Canada's agriculture minister said.


The comments from Canadian Agriculture Minister Andy Mitchell came as Taiwan reimposed the ban on U.S. beef that it lifted just two months ago. Also, a Japanese government food safety panel expressed concern Saturday about the second confirmed American case, raising speculation that Tokyo may delay a planned resumption of U.S. beef imports.

The U.S. ban on Canadian cattle has cost Canada's ranching industry $5.6 billion and strained ties between the two countries. Canadian officials have regularly called for an end to the ban, and they said the U.S. announcement of its first homegrown case of mad cow confirmed their belief that keeping the border closed to Canadian cattle no longer served its stated purpose.

"There is really no excuse to delay opening up the border. It has to be open. The American administration is behind us. Canadian science clearly shows this and it should open now,"
Prime Minister Paul Martin said from Alberta, a province hit hard by the ban.

The U.S. ban on Canadian cattle was imposed in May 2003 when an Albertan-born cow was found ill with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or
BSE. Concerns persisted after a Canadian-born cow in Washington state was found in December 2003 to have the disease. Humans who eat BSE-contaminated tissue can contract a degenerative, fatal brain disorder.

The border was scheduled to reopen in March, but a federal judge in Billings, Mont., ordered it kept closed at the request of ranchers suing to block Canadian cattle imports. Two hearings in the case are scheduled for July.

Canadian ranchers have called it protectionism, saying the U.S. ban is no longer about mad cow disease.

"Cattle beef is safe in both countries and consumers should have confidence in the beef and cattle supply," Mitchell told The Associated Press.

A pound of steer dropped from 88 cents in May 2003 to 22 cents after the ban. Eighty percent of Canada's beef exports went to the United States, according to Stan Eby, president of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, which represents 90,000 cattle producers.

The United States has for years sent much of its beef in the other direction as well. In 1999-2003, Canada was the fourth-largest importer of U.S. beef behind Japan, Mexico and
South Korea, according to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture.

Japan — the United States' largest overseas market until it banned American beef imports 17 months ago — has been under intense U.S. pressure to resume imports, with some officials threatening sanctions. Japan had imported about $1.5 billion of U.S. beef annually.

But Friday's confirmation of the American case raises the need to examine the accuracy of U.S. testing and the extent of the illness there, said Kiyotoshi Kaneko of Japan's Food Safety Commission.

"There is a big difference between a suspected case and a confirmation," Kaneko said in an interview aired by public broadcaster NHK.

Japan's Agriculture Ministry plans to ask Washington to provide more information about the affected cow, including details about its origin and feed, NHK said.

Japanese consumer groups Saturday renewed their demand that the government keep the ban in place.

"If any doubts remain, we cannot buy American beef if it returns to our market," Toshiko Kanda, head of Consumers Japan, told NHK.

Two months ago, Taiwan lifted the ban it had imposed in February 2004. Chen Lu-hung of the Heath Department's Food Control Section said Saturday the renewed ban would take effect immediately.

In the year before the ban, Taiwan imported more than $76 million in U.S. beef and beef products, according to the USDA.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050625/ap_ ... gn_markets

Surprised nobody has raised a stink about this too much.

   

I think that Canada should close it's borders to American beef immediately. It is time for the United States realizes that they cannot have it both ways. Canadians should be looking at other markets rather than depending on the protectionist United States. Perhaps R-CALF would change their minds if it was their market that was killed off gradually.

   

Typical. Suddenly it happens to them and they do not like it.



Pretty sure this is what it's all about.

   

I havent bought any meat that says USA on it since they closed the border

   

Fug Em, It's gonna hurt them in the long run. Canada used to ship a lot of it's live cattle down to there slaughter houses and we'd buy the meat back. Now there are lot's of slaughterhouses opening up north of the border again. We need to learn how to not depend on the USA. I'm not sure how many tarrifs they have to put on us before we learn that.

   

Over here in Taiwan, they stopped importing beef from the States in Dec of 2003, Canadian beef was banned even before this. A few weeks ago they lifted the ban and started importing American beef. Yesterday, they put a halt to the imports and people here are running around in a panic thinking they are all going to develop JK from eating dirty American beef (and that is mild compared to their opinions of Candadian Beef).

It's ridiculous. Here they butcher animals (cows,pigs and chickens) that are already dead of natural causes and disease and sell it to the market. I guess New Zealand(excellent) and Oz steaks(a little tough but still tasty) are back on the menu.

   

R-CALF is so full of crap. The only reason they want to keep the border closed is because beef prices are up 35% south of the border. Why? Because Canadian beef isn't allowed in any longer.

Before BSE, the Canada and the US formed one big market. Now, because the border is closed, we are opening up slaughter houses and with our cheaper feed, when we get to compete again, instead of being a parnter, we'll be a competitor.

   

I think both the federal and provincial governments dropped the ball on this one. They should have offered incentives to create cattle processing businesses rather than paying off the ranchers. They should have closed the border to American cattle and then the Canadian cattle producers would have a market available.

   

I believe that the government should close down the border. The US government closed down the border when there was a MadCow case in Canada. Canada should do the same. It is only fair. If we close down the border, it will encourage faster negotiation. I fired off an e-mail to my member of Parliament to close down the border. If you believe strongly as I do, you people should send an e-mail to your MP also.

   

The 2nd U.S. mad cow traced back to Texas. Anyone else see or read about it? I'm glad it had nothing to do with canada this time

   

Yes, and isnt it ironic that this happened to Canada...*SLAM* *SHUT* borders on Canadian beef but not many others seem to raise the fact that U.S HAS BSE and their feeding inspection is vastly inferior to Canadas. Interesting to see the U.S on their knees sucking c*ck assuring other countries that THEIR beef is safe. I am not familiar with how things are done in the states but it seems ludicrous that some piss ant group called RCALF can overturn the all mighty U.S governments-- that uses its military muscle in Iraq-- way of doing things. Pisses me off. As well our lame government who does dick all.

   

[quote="PJB"]I think that Canada should close it's borders to American beef immediately. It is time for the United States realizes that they cannot have it both ways. Canadians should be looking at other markets rather than depending on the protectionist United States. Perhaps R-CALF would change their minds if it was their market that was killed off gradually.[/quote

Huh there market killed off? I think that the 250= million people eating Beef in the states could sustain there market for quite some time.

   

Closing Canada's border to US beef would be an immature response and do harm in the long run. I think we are doing the right thing by sticking to our belief that there are systems in place to protect the food chain in both countries.

The US border will reopen sooner if we stay our current course, and by then, we will have many of the processing plants we use the US for and be far ahead of where we would be if we closed the border.

Integrity will prevail, it does take patience.

m

   

Oilman..Why are so many cattle processors in the United States screaming about layoffs and such. They are dependant upon Canadian cattle for their livelihood.

   

Who actually buys American beef? Or is it the cows sent here for finishing? If that is the case we should close the border to American beef because by sending us their cows for finishing, then taking them back, they can claim that it is "Canadian" because at one point the cow was in Canada. This weakens Canada as a brand for beef and that is simply unacceptable. I find it humourous that Taiwan is scared of Canadian beef. I have worked for Chinese people (yes, Taiwan is China, go read a history book) and I can tell you first hand, sanitary conditions for their food products are not exactly a top priority. That is my two cents worth in this thread.

   

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