Cramer Concerned About USDA Decision Allowing Importation of Brazilian and Argentine Beef

Press Release

Today, Congressman Kevin Cramer expressed concern after the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it was allowing the importation of beef from the Brazilian states of Bahia, Brasilia, Espirito Santo, Goias, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Parana, Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, Rondonia, Sao Paulo, Sergipe, and Tocantins. In Argentina, beef will be imported from the Patagonia region of the country. The decision was made despite concerns over potential threats to the US Cattle Industry over contamination due to foot--and--mouth disease (FMD). In April 2014, Colin Woodall, Vice President of Government Affairs for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, estimated the impacts of an FMD outbreak in the United States to range between $5 billion and $50 billion.

"Foot-and-mouth disease remains a problem for the Brazilian and Argentine beef industry. The importation of beef from these South American countries remains a threat to the US Cattle Industry. My priority is to protect the health and safety of cattle herds in North Dakota and across the country. FMD's potentially devastating impacts on the US Cattle Industry require us to make every effort to ensure any beef imported from South American is disease free," said Cramer

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