A North Dakota official gave no hint last week that his state will back away from tougher regulations for imported Canadian livestock.
The proposed new rules under Bill 1276 would require Canadian livestock to be tested for tuberculosis, brucellosis, bluetongue and anaplasmosis.
North Dakota has proposed the testing despite Canada’s disease-free status as recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture.
“Our feeling is that the USDA is more concerned about trade than disease control,” said North Dakota state veterinarian Larry Schuler.
“North Dakota’s perspective is that the USDA did not do an adequate risk analysis prior to recognizing Canada as disease free.”
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The new regulations could take effect by the end of this year, Schuler said.
The rules would only apply to livestock destined for North Dakota and not to livestock being shipped through the state en route to other parts of the U.S.
Critics of the proposed regulations had until Sept. 19 to submit comments for review by the state.
The prairie provinces sent delegates to Bismarck, the state’s capital, this summer to challenge the proposed rules.
They argued that such rules fly in the face of international trade agreements and undermine efforts on both sides of the border to improve trade.
“We’re working really hard to remove trade irritants between the two countries,” said Carolynn Osborn, a Manitoba Agriculture policy economist, in an Oct. 4 interview.
“We see this as a major step backward.”
There is concern that other states might follow North Dakota’s lead. And while Manitoba has been told the new rules will apply only to feeder and breeding stock, Osborn said there is no guarantee that slaughter cattle won’t be included later on.
“This has more to do with non-tariff barriers to trade than it does to health,” Osborn said.
“It gives them pretty broad powers to do an awful lot.”
The Canadian government has also warned North Dakota that the proposed regulations would put the state in violation of U.S. international trade obligations.
“I think we’ve given them a lot to chew on,” said Phillip Douglas, a trade policy official for Agriculture Canada.
“We assume they’re now chewing. The next step depends on them.”
Ottawa views the health argument as a red herring.
Details of the proposed regulations are too ambiguous to tell what their full impact might be, Douglas said.
“There was nothing in the regulations that would prevent North Dakota officials from using them to attack interstate commerce.”
Wade Moser, executive vice-president of the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association, said the playing field is tilted in Canada’s favor.
Health regulations for American cattle exports to Canada have added to that advantage, he said.
“In the past, there hasn’t been a market there (in Canada) simply because of all the hoops that we had to go through,” he said.
“If there are Canadian feed yards that want those cattle, we shouldn’t have all those barriers.”
Moser agrees a lot of work has been done to lower trade barriers, but believes more work is needed.
“If there isn’t a level playing field, then there’s some heartburn over it.”
