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Contact:
Alisa Harrison, United States, 202-720-4623
John LeVatte, Canada, 613-759-7972
Elena Mendoza, Mexico, (52) 55-5918 3100 x 33055

JOINT STATEMENT BY THE UNITED STATES, CANADA AND MEXICO

January 16, 2004

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman, Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Bob Speller and Mexican Secretary of Agriculture Javier Usabiaga held their first-ever joint meeting today. The purpose of the meeting, hosted by Secretary Veneman, was to address the new challenges presented by the finding of the two BSE-infected cows in the United States and Canada, and to discuss the new measures to be implemented in order to achieve a resumption in the North American trade in beef.

The Ministers agreed to enhance ongoing efforts to increase harmonization and equivalence of BSE regulations and to address the challenges of the BSE findings in North America with the goal of ensuring the continued safety of the North American food supply.

It was agreed that maintaining consumer confidence in beef is fundamental to the management of the BSE issue and that it will remain a top priority in future discussions to improve the international approach to BSE.

The highly integrated nature of the North American beef industry was recognized, as was the need for a coordinated approach to address both the regulatory and trade aspects of the current BSE challenges.

The parties have been working together for months to expand the current dialogue on BSE. Their objective is to update World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) guidelines and encourage adherence to the science-based guidelines and applications for the international trade in safe animal and animal products in the OIE. Finally, the officials agreed to the development of appropriate global incentives to further the control and eradication of the disease and will focus on, among other things, treating countries fairly and consistently if and when BSE is discovered.

Each government agreed to designate a sub-cabinet level official to coordinate the ongoing interagency efforts toward a resumption of exports based on a harmonized framework.

The officials also noted that together, the United States, Canada and Mexico, have a unique opportunity to demonstrate international leadership aimed at North American beef and cattle exports while maintaining the highest level of food safety.

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