Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 12/6/21

Lawmakers in both parties are calling on the Biden administration to immediately halt all Brazilian beef from entering the U.S. after the South American nation dragged its feet on reporting incidents of mad cow disease, our Meredith Lee reports.

But the administration isn’t planning to do so, Biden’s USDA chief told POLITICO: “At this point in time, there isn’t a scientific reason or basis” to order the suspension, Vilsack said. He added that there’s “a misunderstanding about the extent of issues in Brazil.”

“There’s the belief that there is something a bit more serious than in fact is,” Vilsack said, when asked about lawmakers’ calls for him to act.

Brazil waited months before notifying the U.S. and other trade partners that it had detected two cases of “atypical” Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, known as mad cow disease. U.S. cattle producers — who have long argued for bans on Brazilian meat due to food safety concerns — quickly accused Brazil of a cover-up and pressed lawmakers to act.

While the reporting delays raise their own concerns, USDA says it doesn’t consider the “atypical” type of cases most recently found in Brazil to be a risk to U.S. consumers right now. Vilsack argued that a suspension was unwarranted at this point according to USDA standards, and that it would end up harming the U.S. beef industry.

“If we were to do that, then we would expose our own beef industry to significant restrictions worldwide under similar circumstances,” Vilsack said.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said he plans to “keep aggressively pushing USDA to act” and will keep advocating for a bill he introduced that would trigger the suspension.

“He’s really dug in,” a senior USDA official said of Tester, claiming the issue “is more about politics” than food safety at this point. Cattle production is Montana’s top ag sector by sales, per USDA data.

In response, a Tester aide said, “This has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with protecting America’s food safety, something Senator Tester knows a thing or two about as the Senate’s only working farmer.”

Beyond Tester, the political pressure on the Biden administration is intensifying: The No. 2 Republican in the Senate, John Thune of North Dakota, is planning to lead a letter from a bipartisan group of lawmakers later this week calling for Vilsack to carry out the suspension on Brazilian beef.