China steps up ban on US pork
China has stepped up the ban for American pork imports with another 17 states.
The measure is related to the H1N1 influenza outbreak, previously called swine influenza. According to China, this flu can be transferred through meat, thus ignoring the World Health Organization’s official comments, denying this statement.
The total number of American states that cannot export pork is now 36. The ban was put on fresh, frozen and cooked meat, and also for pork products of animals slaughtered in these states.
Banning countries
Altogether, there are almost 20 countries that have banned meat from countries hit by the H1N1 influenza outbreak, like the US, Canada, Mexico, Spain and the Netherlands. Of World Trade Organization (WTO) members, China and Indonesia are the most important among these banning countries.
The WTO and the United Nations (UN) have both condemned the meat import bans. According to WTO chairman Pascal Lamy the WTO countries cannot implement these bans, as the countries have to have scientific proof for that these ‘threats’ could harm public health.
Russia has also banned meat from a lot of countries. This country is no WTO member, so no proof is required for imposing these bans.
Related websites:
World Health Organization (WHO)
World Trade Organization (WTO)
United Nations (UN)
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