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Senator Requests Delay on CAFTA Implementation

Sen. Chuck Grassley urged the U.S. Trade Representative office to delay implementing the United States - Central America - Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement with certain countries that have not accepted the U.S. meat inspection system.

In a letter sent Wednesday, Grassley says the countries committed to recognize the U.S. meat inspection system as equivalent to their own, but not all of them have done so.

"By recognizing the equivalency of the U.S. system, these countries would accept the import eligibility of all USDA approved meatpacking facilities," his letter says. "At the present time, the laws of some CAFTA-DR countries require plant-by-plant inspections of individual U.S. facilities, and these plant-by-plant inspections in effect limit exports of U.S. meat."

"I see no need for you to rush the implementation of the CAFTA-DR until this pending matter is resolved," Grassley wrote to United States Trade Representative Rob Portman.