Source:  Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 5/27/09

Russia's agricultural products watchdog said it will not bow to U.S. pressure to lift bans on U.S. meat imports, contending the measures are health-related rather than politically motivated.

Sergei Dankvert, head of Rosselkhoznadzor, told Reuters on Tuesday that issues related to meat trade should be negotiated by business people and veterinarians, not politicians.

"Strangely enough, we have to argue not with veterinarians, but with officials," Dankvert was quoted as saying. "The more the situation is pegged to politics, the worse it becomes."

Russia has banned all meat imports from several U.S. states on fears of H1N1 flu influenza, even though world health authorities state that humans cannot contract the virus by eating pork.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk last week said the United States aims to broaden international meat trade through tougher enforcement of trade agreements and lifting technical barriers to U.S. meat and poultry exports.

"We are not going to yield to any enforcement," Dankvert reportedly said in response to Kirk's comments.

Rosselkhoznadzor and Russia's poultry lobby plans to discuss issues related to U.S. meat trade with producers and veterinarians at the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) annual meeting in Paris this week.

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