Bovine parasite reignites trade tensions between Mexico and the United States
As southern Mexico faces an outbreak of screwworm cases affecting several cattle farms, the United States threatened on Saturday, April 26, to suspend imports of Mexican cattle. Three days later, an agreement was reached between the two countries, but Mexico denounced the pressure as "excessive" and Washington's political exploitation of the crisis.
After tensions over Mexican tomatoes , it is now the livestock sector that is causing concern between Mexico and the United States. For several weeks, several livestock farms in southern Mexico have been facing a wave of contamination caused by the screwworm, a deadly parasitic fly that targets mammals—and, occasionally, humans.
In response to this scourge, Washington threatened, in a letter dated Saturday, April 26, to suspend imports of Mexican cattle if effective measures were not taken before April 30. Thus, the US Department of Agriculture has ordered the administration of President Claudia Sheinbaum to “strengthen its efforts against the pest,” reports El País América .
At the same time, the United States has also requested exemption from customs duties on American aviation equipment intended for the eradication of the parasite, adds La Silla Rota .
This renewed tension is part of a long-standing health crisis, which has been the subject of bilateral collaborations to combat the screwworm. In November 2024, after the detection of a case of myiasis (a skin disease caused by the fly) in the state of Chiapas,
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