U.S. to Relax Ban on European Meat SoonThe United States will soon relax a ban on imports of European meat and livestock imposed two months ago to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said Friday.The ban will be lifted step by step as the European situation regarding the disease is getting better, and is now contained to only two countries. Veneman said: "I believe we will have the risk analysis done sometime within the next couple of weeks, but I can't give you a date certain, and that there will be some regional lifting of the ban." The United States has banned meat imports from Britain since February and then from all areas of the European Union countries since March, when an outbreak of the highly-contagious foot-and- mouth disease began in France. Countries such as Denmark, which have been free of the disease, have been hit hard by the ban and are strongly demanding the United States to lift the restriction. |
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