“Mad cow” and the Neighbours: Canada's beef with the US border closure

Abstract

In May 2003 Canada's Food Inspection Agency announced that a single case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) had been diagnosed in a native born Canadian cow. In the aftermath of this announcement, the United States closed its border to Canadian beef and live cattle exports. At the time, the United States accounted for nearly all of Canada's live cattle and the majority of its beef exports, so the loss of this market was critical. By September 2003 the border reopened to beef exports from cattle less than 30 months of age, but it would be over two years before cattle under 30 months would be admitted. This article outlines the consequences of the border closure on Canada's cattle industry and considers the obstacles to lessening its dependence upon the US market.

En mai 2003, l'Agence d'inspection des aliments du Canada a annoncé que l'on avait découvert un cas unique d'encéphalopathie spongiforme bovine (ESB) chez une vache née au Canada. Les États Unis ont alors fermé leurs frontières au bœuf canadien et à toute importation de bovins sur pied. À l'époque, les États Unis recevaient pratiquement toutes les exportations de bovins sur pied du Canada et de la majorité de ses exportations de bœuf. La perte de ce marché fut ainsi catastrophique. En septembre 2003, la frontière fut rouverte à l'importation de viande de bovins de moins de 30 mois, mais il fallut plus de deux ans pour que les bovins de moins de 30 mois soient admissibles aux États Unis. Cet article expose les conséquences de la fermeture des frontières sur le secteur de l'élevage bovin au Canada et montre pourquoi il est difficile de diminuer cette dépendance par rapport au marché américain.

Notes

Professor Michael Broadway is Head of the Department of Geography at Northern Michigan University. He served as the Fulbright‐Pacific Northwest Canadian Studies Consortium Visiting Research Chair in Canadian‐American Trade Policy and Law at the University of Alberta in 2005. During his stay at the University of Alberta, Professor Broadway examined the immediate consequences of the Canadian BSE case, which resulted in the closure of Canadian beef exports to the United States.