May 10,2004

Grassley Praises Australian Decision on U.S. Pork

M E M O R A N D U M

To: Reporters and Editors
Re: Australian decision on importation of U.S. pork
Da: Monday, May 10, 2004

Sen. Chuck Grassley made the following statement regarding the announcement today byAustralia of its new policy to permit the importation of U.S.-processed pork, including ham andbacon, as well as unprocessed pork for processing.

“I’m very pleased with this science-based decision. Due to alleged sanitary problems,Australia previously prohibited the importation of U.S. pork products. After further research,Australia decided to give the green light today to processed U.S. pork and pork for processing. Withtoday’s announcement, Iowa producers will now be able to compete with their counterparts fromAustralia, Canada, Denmark, and New Zealand in the Australian market. On two occasions, Iexpressed my concerns to Australia’s Ambassador to the United States that Australia base itsdetermination upon science, and I commend Australian quarantine officials for doing just that.”