WASHINGTON — The US Department of Agriculture announced a new proposal that would allow the import of fresh (chilled or frozen) beef from Paraguay.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) stated Paraguayan beef was previously restricted due to concerns about foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and other common animal diseases.

However, the agency determined that Paraguay showed the emergency preparedness and response needed to control a potential outbreak.

“We further concluded that Paraguay is able to comply with US import restrictions on the specific products from affected areas. Based on the evidence documented in our risk analysis, we believe that fresh (chilled or frozen) beef can be safely imported from Paraguay, provided certain conditions are met,” APHIS said in the proposal published in the Federal Register. 

APHIS added that Paraguay would need to comply with the same regulations for beef imports shipped to the United States from Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.

“While there have been FMD outbreaks in the past in those regions, the disease is not currently known to exist in any of them,” the proposal stated. “We do not recognize those exporting regions as FMD-free, however, because the Argentine, Brazilian, and Uruguayan governments all require that cattle be vaccinated for FMD.”

Following this news, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) came out against the proposed rule calling on Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to continue to block Paraguayan beef.

“USDA’s proposed rule to allow Paraguayan beef imports into the US is based on 9-year-old data and site visits that occurred in 2008 and 2014. Paraguay has a history of outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease, and we cannot jeopardize the safety of US consumers and the health of our US cattle herd with outdated information,” said Kent Bacus, executive director of government affairs at the NCBA. “The United States has the highest animal health and food safety standards in the world because we rely on the most up-to-date information and the highest science-based standards. USDA should not proceed with this application until a thorough review can be conducted with current information that demonstrates Paraguay’s equivalence in animal health and food safety standards.”

According to the USDA and the Federal Register proposal, Paraguay is expected to import between 3,250 to 6,500 tonnes to the United States, which is about .05% of the US average annual imports of fresh beef.