Canadian Cattlemen’s Association president Stan Eby hoped for something more definite from Washington last week about when the border will open to live Canadian cattle, but for now he’ll take what he got.
On April 30, in comments that had Canadian political leaders voicing optimism, U.S. president George Bush said he wants an open border. He did not say when.
“It would have been nice if he had set a timeline for making a decision,” Eby said from his Ontario farm. “A definitive date for getting a decision would have gone a long way to ending the uncertainty in the countryside. But the president’s words were encouraging nonetheless.”
Read Also
Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes
federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
Bush said only that he wants the border open “as quickly as possible.”
He insisted his government is committed to free trade, despite a number of trade disputes that affect sales of Canadian wheat, softwood lumber and other products into the U.S. market.
“My administration is committed to a policy of free trade when it comes to beef,” the president said after meeting prime minister Paul Martin and agriculture minister Bob Speller at the White House. “I assured the prime minister I want to get this issue solved as quickly as possible. It is in our nations’ interests that we have live beef moving back and forth. It’s also in our interests that we make decisions based on sound science.”
Martin told reporters these were “very important” signals to U.S. regulators and agriculture secretary Ann Veneman who will decide when and if to open the border closed last May 20. Veneman is assessing more than 3,000 comments made to her department on the issue of whether to reopen the border.
“His instruction is very important,” Speller said. “He sent a strong message to her and to those who might try to use politics to slow this down that it is his view that the border should be opened. That has to have an impact.”
Speller said Veneman told him her review of the comments filed on USDA proposed rules to open the border for cattle under 30 months is “well under way.”
However, she did not tell him when she will finish her review.
Almost immediately, a strong Bush supporter in Congress cautioned the administration against moving quickly.
Montana Republican Dennis Rehberg, co-chair of the Bush re-election campaign in the state and a rancher, said it is too soon to consider border opening. Americans still need to make changes such as cattle ID and country-of-origin labelling before they are ready for unfettered trade.
“I agree with the president that the border should open,” Rehberg told CBC television. “But I think Canada would agree with those of us in Montana who say it ought to be opened in an orderly fashion. We cannot allow either side to flood markets because we could further exacerbate a problem that already exists.”
Eby said he is not prepared to support this plea for a delay that could slow down the border opening for months, if not years. That’s why he said Bush could have been more helpful by setting a deadline for a decision.
“Right now it is open ended and that really is creating frustration in the countryside.”
