Bilateral Protocol Established for Approving Plants to Export to Mexico
Bilateral Protocol Established for Approving Plants to Export to Mexico
USMEF has recently been informed of a formal change in procedure for listing, relisting and making administrative changes for U.S. processing plants exporting to Mexico. In an effort to avoid future trade interruptions, FSIS has been working with SENASICA to establish a uniform, bilateral protocol to address these situations.
For listing, relisting or making administrative changes for a processing plant, the plant should only contact FSIS personnel – either in Washington, D.C., or the district in which the plant is located. Once this contact takes place, the next steps in the process are as follows:
- FSIS will review the plant’s request for propriety and accuracy.
- The appropriate FSIS personnel will write an official letter to SENASICA regarding the request, which will be delivered through the U.S. Embassy in Mexico.
- After receiving the letter, SENASICA has two weeks to analyze and process the request, and inform the embassy whether it has been accepted.
- As soon as the embassy receives this notification from SENASICA, FSIS is notified.
- FSIS headquarters will then update the Export Library to reflect any changes in the plant’s status. If this change reflects approval of a listing or relisting, the plant is approved to export to Mexico at that point.
While this process could require about three weeks, the agencies are hopeful that it will improve the flow of trade and help exporters avoid significant disruptions in business. USMEF will also continue to work with trade officials from the U.S. and Mexico to make this process work as smoothly as possible, and to address any outdated or obsolete regulations that disrupt trade between the two countries.
Please contact Paul Clayton at pclayton@usmef.org or Chad Russell at crussell@usmef.org.mx if you have any questions regarding this protocol.
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The U.S. Meat Export Federation (www.USMEF.org) is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, corn and soybean checkoff programs.
Bilateral Protocol Established for Approving Plants to Export to Mexico
USMEF has recently been informed of a formal change in procedure for listing, relisting and making administrative changes for U.S. processing plants exporting to Mexico. In an effort to avoid future trade interruptions, FSIS has been working with SENASICA to establish a uniform, bilateral protocol to address these situations.
For listing, relisting or making administrative changes for a processing plant, the plant should only contact FSIS personnel – either in Washington, D.C., or the district in which the plant is located. Once this contact takes place, the next steps in the process are as follows:
- FSIS will review the plant’s request for propriety and accuracy.
- The appropriate FSIS personnel will write an official letter to SENASICA regarding the request, which will be delivered through the U.S. Embassy in Mexico.
- After receiving the letter, SENASICA has two weeks to analyze and process the request, and inform the embassy whether it has been accepted.
- As soon as the embassy receives this notification from SENASICA, FSIS is notified.
- FSIS headquarters will then update the Export Library to reflect any changes in the plant’s status. If this change reflects approval of a listing or relisting, the plant is approved to export to Mexico at that point.
While this process could require about three weeks, the agencies are hopeful that it will improve the flow of trade and help exporters avoid significant disruptions in business. USMEF will also continue to work with trade officials from the U.S. and Mexico to make this process work as smoothly as possible, and to address any outdated or obsolete regulations that disrupt trade between the two countries.
Please contact Paul Clayton at pclayton@usmef.org or Chad Russell at crussell@usmef.org.mx if you have any questions regarding this protocol.
# # #
The U.S. Meat Export Federation (www.USMEF.org) is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, corn and soybean checkoff programs.