Canadian cattle producers are getting high-powered American support for reopening the border to Canadian cattle, but some observers don’t know if that will translate into an open border any time soon.
In October, four Republican American lobby groups sent a joint letter to president George Bush, asking him to reopen the U.S. border to Canadian cattle before it harms more American businesses.
“To do so would bring an end to the very real harm that thousands of Americans are suffering as a result of the border closing,” wrote members of Americans for Tax Reform, the National Taxpayers Union, the American Conservation Union and the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
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“If the U.S.-Canadian border remains closed to the cattle trade for much longer, Canada will begin to build its own packing plants, creating its own market and eliminating the need for U.S. plants even after the border is reopened,” they wrote in the Oct. 11 letter.
Tom Readmond, federal affairs manager with Americans for Tax Reform, said it’s clear to them the border closure is political and not a health and safety issue.
Readmond of Washington, D.C., said the letter won’t reopen the border, but it sends a signal to the American government that a continued border closure because of BSE is not supported by their organizations.
Greg Conko, director of food safety policy with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, echoed the comments. While these types of letters are useful, they’re more of a reminder to the administration that the group supports the reopening of the border, he said.
There is also some worry that Bush might not be re-elected president in November and there is a need to publish the rules of the resumed cattle trade before a new president would take over in the third week of January.
“This is an important thing that should be done with the utmost haste,” said Conko of Washington, D.C.
Steve Kay of Cattle Buyers Weekly in Petaluma, California., said the letter would have “minimal effect” on reopening the border.
“The reality is USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) and the Bush administration have wanted to publish the so-called Canadian rules for some time now and there are some constraints, and no matter how many letters from however worthy an organization is not going to speed up their process.”
