The United States has no intention of backing away from contentious proposals to increase border inspection of fruit and vegetable imports from Canada, but it may be able to make it less obtrusive and costly, the senior U.S. agriculture official in Ottawa said last week.
Gary Groves, minister-counselor at the U.S. embassy in Ottawa representing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service, also told MPs during an Oct. 18 Parliament Hill appearance that the administration still plans to publish a rule allowing imports of older cattle and breeding stock from Canada before the end of the year.
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With a comment period to follow and the strong likelihood of a court challenge against the open border rule, it will not take effect until well into 2007, even if the USDA publishes it this year.
Groves said that despite highly visible irritants that make the U.S. appear protectionist, “Canada gets an incredible priority in the issues it is raising.”
He noted complaints from federal agriculture minister Chuck Strahl about a U.S. proposal to increase border inspection in November of Canadian agricultural imports, particularly fruit and vegetables, to protect American growers from imported diseases.
Groves said the U.S. began more extensive inspection of imported food products including fruit and vegetables a decade ago but exempted Canada.
However, increasingly Canada exports fruit and vegetables to the U.S. that have come into Canada from third countries, he said.
It has increased risks because Canada with its northern climate often does not test for diseases that could devastate horticulture operations in warmer southern states.
“There are some very legitimate concerns that we have here,” Groves said.
However, he recognized Canadian complaints about the added cost and potential border delays and pledged the U.S. will try to find ways to implement the policy with the least possible disruption.
Groves also said the U.S. system allows delay of the Nov. 24 implementation date, although he had no information that this is planned.
On the BSE issue, Groves denied a suggestion that November congressional elections could delay the promised publishing of a proposed rule to open the border to Canadian cattle. He said it is not a partisan issue.
