Johanns Addresses Trade Issues
Ag secretary shares his passion for agriculture, says the Canadian border will open March 7.
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| Secretary of Agricultural Mike Johanns |
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS (Feb. 4, 2005) — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns addressed a near capacity crowd at the Cattle Industry Annual Convention Friday, Feb. 4. It was Johanns’ first speech delivered outside Washington, D.C., since joining the Bush cabinet.
“We may not always agree on everything,” Johanns told the crowd of National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) members. “But my door is always open. I respect your views and I’ll always take them into account.”
NCBA president and Kansas cattle producer Jan Lyons predicted a good working relationship with the new head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). She said Johanns showed himself a champion for agriculture and the beef industry while serving as governor of Nebraska. Lyons cited Johanns’ efforts to secure drought relief for Nebraska producers and his ongoing promotion of beef and other ag products in foreign markets.
Secretary Johanns confessed his passion for agriculture, saying he came to the Bush team because the president understands that passion. He told beef producers, “You have a friend in the White House.”
Johanns said he shares the president’s commitment to push for permanent repeal of the death tax and promised to aggressively seek reopening of U.S. beef export markets. Access has been regained to some markets that closed when a single U.S. case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was detected in December 2003, but the most important export market, Japan, remains closed.
“Opening Japan is my priority,” pledged Johanns who has already applied pressure to Japanese leaders.
“Some say I’m pushing too hard,” he added, “but I don’t intend to let up on this. I will keep pushing until we resume trade at former levels.”
Beef producers questioned Johanns about his stand on his predecessor’s decision to accept imports of live cattle and beef from Canada. The U.S. border has been closed since BSE was detected in the western province of Alberta. Since then, three more BSE cases have been identified. All were associated with older animals originating in Canada.
Now, after Canada and the United States have taken steps to assess BSE prevalence, minimize risk of its spread, and assure beef safety, USDA plans to reopen its border. The plan limits imports of live cattle to minimal-risk animals — those under 30 months of age. U.S. beef producers have expressed concern, however, because proposed import regulations do not exclude beef from animals older than 30 months.
“I have been asked repeatedly why the rule was crafted as it is,” Johanns said. “I have concerns about it, and we will have to deal with that in advance of March 7.”
That is the scheduled date for opening the border and that date stands, Johanns stated. But he promised to consider a report provided by an NCBA delegation that recently completed an evaluation of the Canadian cattle industry. Assessments by two USDA teams will provide additional information. Johanns said USDA would formulate a response well in advance of the opening date.
— by Troy Smith, field editor, Angus Productions Inc.
© Copyright 2005 Angus Productions Inc.
Editor’s Note: This article was written under contract or by staff of Angus Productions Inc. (API), which claims copyright to this article. It may not be published or distributed without the express permission of Angus Productions Inc. To request reprint permission and guidelines, contact Shauna Rose Hermel, editor, at (816) 383-5270 or shermel@angusjournal.com.
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