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(回答先: カナダ産牛の輸入、来週にも再開＝米農務長官(ロイター） 投稿者 中田英寿 日時 2005 年 7 月 16 日 17:54:24)
アメリカの農場労働者組合R-CALFが、輸入は労働者と消費者を狂牛病の危険に晒すとして輸入再開に反対し地裁のCebull判事はこれを支持していたが、この度の上訴審（連邦裁）では農務省（USDA）の意見が認められた。禁輸措置はカナダ経済に70億ドルの損失を齎し、アメリカで8000人の雇用を失わせたと見られている。
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/15/AR2005071501706.html
Imports of Canadian Cattle to Resume
Associated Press
Saturday, July 16, 2005; Page A07
Truckloads of Canadian cattle could begin rolling into the United States next week after a federal appeals court's ruling lifting a ban on the animals, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said yesterday.
"Our hope is that we're talking about days and not weeks," Johanns, on a trade mission in Madagascar, told reporters on a telephone call.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on Thursday unanimously overturned a Montana judge who had kept the border closed, saying in his ruling that the U.S. beef industry faced "potentially catastrophic damages" and that American consumers faced "a genuine risk of death."
The United States banned Canadian cattle in May 2003 after Canada discovered its first case of mad cow disease. The USDA was about to reopen the border in March when U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull granted a request from ranchers to keep it closed.
Johanns said procedural and paperwork requirements are the only thing standing in the way of reopening the border
In a hearing Wednesday in Seattle, Justice Department lawyer Mark Stern had urged the appeals court to reopen the border, saying it would not result in the "infestation in American livestock."
The three judges suggested that Cebull perhaps should have given deference to the USDA's decision.
The United States is taking immediate steps to reopen the border to Canadian cattle imports Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said Friday.
During a webcast, Mr. Johanns said that Washington has been in touch with Ottawa and that the two sides are now going through the logistical steps necessary to resume trade of live cattle for the first time since May, 2003.
"Our hope is we're talking about days and not weeks," he said. "If things go well, it could very well be next week, but we have not set a specific date."
Late Thursday, a three-member U.S. appeal court panel in Seattle overturned a temporary injunction issued by Montana Judge Richard Cebull halting the U.S. Department of Agriculture's March plan to reopen the border.
Judge Cebull had sided with U.S. ranchers group R-Calf in its argument that reopening the border exposed U.S. ranchers and consumers to unnecessary risks from mad-cow disease. The USDA had been planning to ease restrictions by allowing cattle younger than 30 months to be imported.
Mr. Johanns noted that Canadian officials had already anticipated the ruling and taken steps to meet U.S. requirements, should Thursday's favour reopening the border.
"It [the reopening] could be as early as next week, but we want to make sure everything is in place," he said.
Those requirements, he said, including ensuring that animals being imported into the U.S. meet minimal-risk rule criteria, getting documents to U.S. customs to confirm the shipments are appropriate for entry to the United States and subjecting cattle to veterinary inspections.
In Ottawa, Canadian agriculture officials said Friday they were optimistic cattle from this country will start moving across the border by next week. Lingering U.S. litigation, however, continues to raise the threat of further trade interruptions down the road.
A spokeswoman for Agriculture Minister Andy Mitchell said that the federal department is now working through the logistics of resuming the cattle trade.
"There are some logistical things that need to be done," Elizabeth Whiting, spokeswoman for Mr. Mitchell's office said.
"We need to get expert certificates issued. We need to match buyers to sellers. So there are some administrative tasks to be done."
Although no specific date has been set for the resumption of trade, she said the minister expects that "in the next week we hope to have cattle moving across the border."
U.S. borders have been closed to Canadian cattle since May, 2003, when the first case of the disease was discovered in this country. The Canadian industry has estimated its losses at $7-billion because of the trade ban.
Despite this week's ruling, the Canadian industry still faces the prospect of another U.S. court date on July 27, when Judge Cebull will be asked by R-Calf to issue a permanent injunction.
In that hearing, Judge Cebull could close the border to products that are currently traded, such as boxed beef younger than 30 months; re-impose the temporary injunction preventing the movement of live animals or clear the way for the full resumption of trade between the two countries.
Ms. Whiting would not speculate on which is most likely but added that, regardless of the decision, a further appeal is likely.
"If the USDA loses it, they will appeal for certain," she said. "If R-Calf loses it, they will likely appeal it as well."
In the meantime, however, she said Ottawa and Washington are moving ahead with the border opening. The July 27 ruling, she said, will determine what approach is taken from that point.
Mr. Johanns also said that if "there is more legal process to be dealt with, we will deal with that.
"We feel very strongly that the border should be open."
A spokesman for R-Calf could not be reached for comment Friday. In a statement issued Thursday, however, the group said it was disappointed by the appellate judges' ruling.
"R-CALF is confident that when we have a full hearing on the merits of the case, we will demonstrate to the district court that USDA's actions are premature and unjustified," the group said.
Although R-Calf has argued that safety is at the heart of its arguments, opponents have countered that the group's primary interest in keeping the border closed is driving up prices.
In addition to the devastation wrought on the Canadian cattle industry, the ban has cost an estimated 8,000 jobs in the U.S. meatpacking industry because of the decline in the number of cattle to process.
Canada has had three cases of mad-cow disease, while the United States has had two, one in a Washington State cow that was born in Alberta and another in a Texas-born cow.
Both countries now bar animal tissues from use in cattle feed, thought to be the main way that mad cow - known formally as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) - is spread.
In a statement, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture Friday welcomed the latest decision but also said it remains cautious ahead of the July 27 court hearing.
"This is another positive step on the road to normalizing cattle and ruminant trade in North America. The ruling lifts some of the burden from our producers, and will benefit both our countries," CFA president Bob Friesen said. "This is further recognition of and support for the science-based approach that has been taken by both Canada and the U.S. Department of Agriculture."
South of the border, American Meat Institute president J. Patrick Boyle told Associated Press that the ruling is also a victory for American consumers who were paying $1.85 (U.S.) a pound for ground beef before the border closed and are paying about $2.55 today.
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