Mexican Pork Bans Lifted
Other countries are considering removing restrictions.
Compiled by staff
Published: May 13, 2009
Ecuador, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates and Honduras are ready to once again import Mexican pork. According to a report, the four countries have positively responded to requests to lift their bans. The bans were put into place following the A/H1N1 flu breakout in Mexico late last month.
Earlier, Gerardo Ruiz Mateos, Mexico's Economy Minister, sent letters to his counterparts in the four nations, wanting clarification of the nature of the import bans and stating they broke international treaties by placing such bans. The ministry said that it would use all means of persuasion at its disposal in an efforts remove the bans.
Also, the Philippines' agriculture department has lifted the import ban on pork from the United States, Mexico and Canada with the exception of pork from Alberta, where a herd of pigs was infected by the virus.
Several countries have taken steps banning the import of pork without compliance of international regulations or scientific basis.
"We are working with the U.S. Trade Representative and State Department to send an aggressive and clear message to those countries that this is not acceptable and they need to lift these bans," said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. "We've been successful, we've reopened markets in Central America, we've had a number of Asian countries rethink their position, but we still have some work to do."
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