Mexico hopeful cattle exports to U.S. will resume soon
Lawmakers introduce STOP Screwworms Act to authorize funding for USDA to construct a new sterile fly production facility in the U.S.
By Kristin Bakker
Mexico’s Secretary of Agriculture & Rural Development Julio Berdegué Sacristán said the country is taking action to resume live cattle, horse and bison exports to the U.S. in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s May 11 announcement of the border closure due to inadequate containment of the deadly New World screwworm (NWS).
Berdegué said in a statement May 13 that Mexico is strengthening its national strategy to combat NWS in conjunction with the U.S. government with the aim of reopening the border to cattle exports in 15 days.
USDA’s announcement said both countries have continued their cooperation and daily communications on control strategies but noted that the trade suspension was necessary due to “unacceptable northward advancement” of NWS. USDA added that it will evaluate the level of containment on a month-by-month basis until significant improvement is achieved.
Berdegué indicated that Mexico took action even before NWS emerged, with prevention measures in place since 2023. After Panama detected NWS in 2023 and the pest reached the southern border of Mexico, he emphasized that the agriculture department has maintained close coordination with U.S. health authorities since then to address the problem.
"Mexico is in permanent dialogue with the U.S. counterparts, doing 100% of what was agreed," he said at a press conference.
In addition, Berdegué explained that among several measures taken, the Mexican government has reinforced inspection measures at airports, customs and the southern border since June 2023 and installed livestock verification and inspection points in October 2024, which resulted in detection of the first case of NWS in November 2024.
To date, Mexico’s National Service for Health, Safety & Food Quality and USDA’s Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service have released more than 885 million sterile flies from the production plant in Panama since November 2024. Berdegué added that construction of a center at the Tuxtla airport with the capacity to release 120 million sterile flies per week is planned for November 2025.
He reiterated a call for USDA to open a sterile fly production plant in Mexico, specifically in Chiapas in southern Mexico, as a strategic measure to help strengthen the regional response to this health threat.
U.S. steps up efforts
After a roundtable meeting in late April, the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association noted that U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins committed to a U.S.-based sterile fly facility. A new bill could kickstart that effort.
On May 14, Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) and Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) introduced the bipartisan Strengthening Tactics to Obstruct the Population of Screwworms (STOP Screwworms) Act, which would authorize funds for and direct USDA to begin construction on a new sterile fly production facility in the U.S. to combat the growing NWS outbreak south of the border.
Gonzales said NWS “is making a comeback, and our livestock industry is in real danger. We need to fully eradicate this pest before it’s too late. The STOP Screwworms Act provides dedicated resources to do just that. By authorizing the construction of a new sterile fly facility in the United States, we reduce our dependence on Latin American partners for eradication efforts and take matters into our own hands.”
Cruz added that he’s working with Rollins, state authorities and others in Congress to safeguard against the threat of NWS and “pushing Mexico to implement their commitments to eradication. This bill will advance those efforts, and Congress should pass it.”
The lawmakers said their bill has the endorsement of several industry organizations, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Livestock Marketing Association, American Livestock Markets and Dealers Association, Texas Farm Bureau, Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society and Livestock Marketing Association of Texas.
NWS was eradicated from the U.S. in 1966, until an infection spread in a population of Key deer in the Florida Keys in 2016, according to the University of Florida. The infection continued until early 2017, when sterile fly treatment was successful in eliminating the screwworms from the environment. There are currently no reports of NWS in the U.S.
