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Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Simon Coveney TD today welcomed the publication of the US rule to bring trade rules for beef into line.

The United States Chief Veterinary Officer yesterday announced a proposal to bring US trade rules for beef into line with accepted international scientific norms. With the revised rule, the USDA would adopt the same BSE risk criteria for categorizing countries as the world organization for animal health (OIE). This will pave the way for allowing access for EU and Irish beef to the very valuable US market. The proposal will be opened for a 60 day public consultation process next week.

Minister Coveney said “ Ireland has been to the forefront in pressing for a level playing field for EU beef in the US. This is a very important first step in a process which I believe will ultimately provide a tremendous opportunity for high quality, grass fed, Irish beef. I will be visiting the US in May and I look forward to raising this very important issue with my counterpart there during that visit.”