Photo courtesy of Evanto Elements
From staff reports
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is reiterating its stance on opposing the importation of Brazilian beef products into the United States. They are asking for an immediate suspension of fresh beef imports. NCBA has a known history of and NCBA would like the USDA to do an audit of Brazil’s animals and heal the food safety system to ensure that the beef is safe. NCBA cites that in 2021, Brazil’s beef exports to the U.S. increased by 131 percent and in the first part of 2022, they shipped over 50,000 tons of fresh beef to the U.S. This increase has triggered a temporary tariff of 26.4 percent that is being applied to the Brazilian Beef imports for the rest of 2022, however it does not address the concern over the safety of Brazilian beef. They would like to have the imports restricted indefinitely until Brazil can prove it meets international animal health and food safety standards.
“We are, once again, calling on Secretary Vilsack to suspend fresh beef imports from Brazil, because of that country’s long history of failing to report BSE cases in a timely manner. It’s incredibly disappointing to have our science-based recommendations met with no notable response by the U.S. Department of Agriculture,” said NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane. “As beef imports from Brazil continue to rise, we urge USDA to reconsider their stance on Brazilian beef and take necessary action to safeguard the integrity of the entire U.S. food supply chain.”
NCBA would like to have the imports permanently halted until Brazil can prove it is meeting international animal health and food safety standards.