Appeals Court Lifts Preliminary Injunction on APHIS' Final Rule on Canada/BSE Minimal Risk Regions
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued a statement announcing that on July 14, 2005 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the preliminary injunction that blocked implementation of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS') final rule as amended1 (final rule) to establish a category of regions that present a minimal risk of introducing bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) into the U.S. via live ruminants and ruminant products and by-products, and to add Canada to this category.
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(The USDA has previously stated that ruminants are animals that have multiple stomachs, such as cattle, sheep, goats, bison, deer, elk, caribou, moose, camels, etc.)
Final Rule is Effective July 15; Movement Not Expected until July 18
According to an APHIS Questions and Answers (Q&A) document, the final rule is effective immediately - July 15, 2005 - due to the Appeals' Court order. Therefore, APHIS states that the live ruminants and ruminant products and by-products addressed in the final rule are eligible for importation as of July 15, 2005. However, to ensure appropriate certification procedures and policies are in place, USDA does not expect any movement to occur until Monday, July 18, 2005.
Commodities from Canada Now Eligible for Import Include Live Cattle Under 30 Months of Age, Etc.
According to APHIS' Q&A, the commodities that are allowed to be imported from Canada under specified conditions under this final rule can be summarized as:
bovines for feeding or immediate slaughter (which includes live cattle), as long as they are slaughtered at less than 30 months;
sheep and goats (ovines and caprines) for feeding or immediate slaughter, as long as they are slaughtered at less than 12 months of age
meat from bovines, ovines, caprines and cervids (deer, elk, caribou, moose and reindeer); and
certain other products and byproducts, including bovine livers and tongues, gelatin, and tallow
APHIS Has Made Available Various Documents on Final Rule
In addition to the statement and Q&A mentioned above, on July 15, 2005 APHIS posted to its Web site other various documents concerning its final rule on BSE minimal risk regions, as follows (partial list):
Implementation: BSE; Minimal-Risk Regions and Importation of Commodities from Canada (to brokers, importers, and other interested parties)
Importation of Bovines (Cattle or Bison) from Canada for Feeding (to feedlot owners and operators and other interested parties)
BSE Minimal-Risk Regions and the Importation of Live Animals (to importers, brokers, and other interested parties)
BSE Minimal-Risk Regions and the Importation of Live Animals (to accredited veterinarians or other interested parties)
Ports of Entry for Eligible Ruminants
(On March 2, 2005, the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana issued a temporary injunction preventing APHIS from implementing its final rule, which had been scheduled to take effect on March 7, 2005. See ITT's Online Archives or 03/04/05 and 03/24/05 news, 05030410 and 05032499 1, for BP summaries of the issuance of the injunction and the government's appeal of the injunction, respectively.)
1 In March 2005, APHIS amended its January 4, 2005 final rule in order to delay until further notice the applicability of the final rule's provisions that apply to the importation from Canada of certain commodities when derived from bovines 30 months of age or older when slaughtered. (See ITT's Online Archives or 03/18/05 news, 05031899 3, for BP summary.)
APHIS Web page on BSE (including the USDA statement (dated 07/14/05) and Q&A (dated July 2005)) available at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/bse/bse.html
APHIS final rule (D/N 03-080-3, FR Pub 01/04/05) available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/pdf/04-28593.pdf ; amendment to final rule (D/N 03-080-6, FR Pub 03/11/05) at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/pdf/05-4917.pdf
BP Note
Washington Trade Daily (WTD) reports that this opening of the border could be short-lived, since another federal court will hold a hearing on the safety of meat crossing the border next week, and could issue an opinion shortly thereafter. (WTD, dated 07/18/05, www.washingtontradedaily.com)