US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has reached an agreement with Mexico and Peru on beef and pork trade, allowing US producers to expand their market.
The latest agreement will allow US producers to export slaughter cattle to Mexico and expand access to consumer markets in Peru for US fresh and chilled pork.
US agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack said: "Our priority at USDA is not only to open or reopen markets for our producers, but to help drive U.S. economic growth through trade by supporting and creating American jobs on and off the farm.
"Mexico is an important market for U.S. cattle producers, with the potential to import $15 million of live U.S. cattle per year and we expect Peru's market could generate $5 million annually in additional pork sales."
This new deal with Mexico will see the export of US slaughter cattle to Mexico for the first time in over a decade. USDA has been working with Mexico since 2008 to reopen this segment.
On the other hand, USDA carried out extensive negotiations with Peru's Servicio National De Sanidad Agraria (SENASA) since 2012 to expand access for U.S. fresh, chilled pork and pork products.
Meanwhile, the US continues its efforts to remove all remaining trade barriers to country's cattle and cattle products caused by cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) detected in the past.
