U.S. aligns beef rules with global mad cow standards

The United States on Friday issued new import rules for cattle and beef that will comply with international standards for the prevention of mad cow disease, saying the step could ultimately boost U.S. beef exports. The European Union said the U.S. move would bring a welcome re-opening of a market closed to its beef since January 1998. Lawmakers and industry groups also welcomed the news, saying it would help the United States regain access to markets that have been closed for decades. World trade in beef was jolted in the 1980s by the discovery of mad cow disease, a fatal brain-wasting disease in cattle, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy.



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