Screwworm Tensions: U.S.-Mexico Beef Industry at Risk

The detection of the New World screwworm near the U.S. border has reignited tensions between the U.S. and Mexico, according to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. She cited Mexico's insufficient protocols in curbing the pest's spread as a significant threat to American livestock.

Rollins highlighted a recent case of screwworm detected in Nuevo Leon, which borders Texas, attributing this to Mexico's failure to implement stricter cattle movement controls and maintenance of fly traps. She stressed that Mexico's lack of action compromises the U.S.'s real-time detection capabilities, thus keeping the border closed to Mexican cattle imports.

While Mexico has yet to enforce the agreed-upon surveillance protocols, the U.S. has invested $21 million in sterilization projects aimed at controlling the pest population. The ongoing situation casts a shadow over the pending United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement review.

(With inputs from agencies.)