Mexico has resumed trade in live dairy heifers with the United States, much to the chagrin of Canadians who had expected Mexico to open its borders to Canada and the U.S. at the same time.
While access to the Mexican market gives Americans a significant trade advantage over Canada, Mexico’s requirements are onerous and may prove too difficult, said Rick McRonald, executive director of Canadian Livestock Genetics Association.
“There are a lot of people who are not very happy with the protocol. It is extremely complicated and they are not sure how it is going to work or if it is going to work,” said McRonald during an interview from Madison, Wisconsin, where he was attending the World Dairy Expo.
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John Masswohl of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association said the agreement between the U.S. and Mexico, which took effect Oct. 4, shows movement toward more relaxed border controls on cattle, but more needs to be done.
“This really isn’t that big an opening,” he said. “It is a positive thing. It proves that work is still going on and it is a step on the road of many steps,” Masswohl said.
He agreed the Mexican requirements on dairy heifer imports may be too hard for producers to meet.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture announcement said all Mexico-bound dairy heifers must be younger than 24 months and carry individual identification.
The U.S. cattle must be registered with a national dairy producer co-operative and their information will be entered into the Mexican animal identification system for monitoring under its BSE surveillance program.
The cattle cannot enter the food or livestock feed chain, so carcasses must be destroyed.
McRonald said those restrictions should not apply to Canadian cattle.
“Canada has a superior animal identification and tracking system so we should not be saddled with the same regulations as the U.S. is saddled with when we get access,” he said.
However, if Canada was offered access under the same conditions at this time, it would likely accept, he said.
“The reason we are not exporting to Mexico is because of U.S. law,” said McRonald.
Canadian breeding stock cannot cross into the U.S. en route to Mexico because of BSE sanctions. If Mexico imported animals from Canada, it would lose access for Mexican feeders heading to the U.S.
“The whole thing of the laws of one country interfering with trade between two other countries is very unpalatable, to say the least,” McRonald said.
Talks to resume trade were proposed at a meeting with the American livestock exporters association a year ago when McRonald suggested Canada and the U.S. work to achieve equal access to Mexico. At a later meeting, a Mexican agriculture official indicated Canadian cattle could start moving by mid 2006.
“The Mexicans had staunchly refused to open to the U.S. until Canada was open as well because they didn’t want to be stuck with just one source of North American cattle,” he said.
Until the U.S. completes a regulation to allow in Canadian breeding stock and cattle older than 30 months, Mexico’s hands are tied.
The best scenario is a U.S. reopening to all Canadian cattle by mid-2007, but the rule could be delayed. Waiting for that rule gives the U.S. a trade advantage because it will have time to establish itself among Mexican importers while Canada waits on the sidelines.
“It is going to give the U.S. six to eight months advantage over us in the market. We believe that advantage is going to be even longer than that,” McRonald said.
The draft rule is still within the USDA where public comments are being accepted until the end of October. It is not expected to go to the Office of Management and Budget for review until after the Nov. 7 U.S. congressional elections. It remains there a maximum of 90 days and then is posted again for further response. The date announcing the border opening appears when the rule is published in the federal register.
Mexico stopped trade with the U.S. when BSE was discovered in a Washington dairy cow in December 2003. It had already banned live Canadian exports in May 2003 after the first case was reported.
Since borders closed, Mexico has had milk shortages. It imported more powdered milk to meet domestic needs because it does not have enough dairy cows.
