USDA Undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Jim Miller, who spent several days last week in Russia in meetings on trade conflicts, said Monday that U.S. and Russian officials are working on a new export certificate that would limit the amount of tetracycline used in U.S. hogs. However, he said that the limit is not related to any domestic campaigns or congressional efforts to curb the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in farm animals.
Miller told reporters that he had "several days of very productive meetings" in Russia on issues involving U.S. exports of chicken, beef, pork, dairy, processed meat and pet food. Miller said he and Russian officials would be exchanging letters over the next few weeks to try to clarify issues.
Russia, which has been a key export market for U.S. chicken, has effectively banned U.S. chicken, and Russian officials have said they intend to be self-sufficient in chicken production within three years.
Russians have complained about finding tetracycline residues in pork and have limited the U.S. plants from which they are willing to accept meat. Miller said he is working to get an export certificate approved that will include an "allotment" for how much tetracycline is acceptable to the Russian customers. Miller added that he believes the limit will be acceptable to the U.S. pork industry.
USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service posted a draft export verification certificate for pork on its website on Jan. 13. The draft certificate says that companies planning to export to the Russian Federation would have to submit to a tetracycline test in order to get the certificate.
House Rules Committee Chairman Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y.; House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.; and Rep. Jan Schkowsky, D-Ill., wrote to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Jan. 15 noting the complaints from Russia about the residues of antibiotics in U.S. meat and urged him to take steps to reduce their use. Slaughter noted that other meat exporters including the European Union, New Zealand and South Korea have implemented restrictions and prohibitions on the use of certain antibiotics in meat production.
FDA officials have also indicated an interest in reducing the use of antibiotics in meat production. But Miller noted that USDA "has always supported the use of antibiotics for intended purposes. I don't know there is a direct interest in the way Russians are looking at it" and future U.S. policy on antibiotics.
In a speech to U.S. Wheat Associates, Miller also said the Obama administration's government-wide global food security initiative, which will involve helping farmers in poor countries to develop agriculture, "will appeal to [U.S.] production agriculture" because the increased wealth in those countries will help expand markets. "Poor people don't make very good customers," Miller said.
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