U.S. officials have been working for decades to reopen markets that have been closed since the discovery of the first case of mad cow disease in the 1980’s. And in a move that could boost U.S. beef and cattle exports and improve international trade relations, the U.S. has issued new import rules for beef and cattle that would comply with international standards for the prevention of mad cow disease. Mad cow, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, caused many nations to restrict imports for fear of a human form of the virus. The new U.S. rules, which will bring the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in line with World Organization for Animal Health guidelines, will be published within days and will take effect 90 days later. The changes by the U.S. will likely bring a reopening of trade with the EU that has been closed since January 1998, and will help restore full access to the Mexican market where the U.S. has been losing $100 million per year because of trade restrictions put in place by that country.
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