The controversial EU-Mercosur trade deal could be finalised by year end, with EU and Mercosur bloc negotiators aiming to find a balanced deal.

Any trade deal with the Mercosur bloc (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) must meet the European Union mandate in relation to agriculture, the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Phil Hogan, has said.

Responding to questions from Agra Facts this week at the post-Agrifish Council press conference, Commissioner Hogan said that further talks in Brussels in September would dictate how much progress is being made.

“[It will] allow negotiators to take stock of how far we can get between now and the end of the year.”

A formal round of negotiations is then to take place in October, with Commissioner Hogan noting a “moderation in expectations on the Mercosur side”, in an effort to get the deal finalised in December.

A number of member states called for caution in the bilateral talks with the Mercosur countries, in particular beef and sugar, according to Agra Facts.

USA BSE case

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed that an 11-year-old cow in Alabama has tested positive for atypical BSE, but did not enter the food chain. The animal was showing clinical signs of the disease and was found through routine surveillance at an Alabama livestock market.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Alabama veterinary officials are gathering more information on the case.

This is the fifth detection of BSE in the US. Of the four previous cases, the first was a case of classical BSE that was imported from Canada; the rest have been atypical (H- or L-type) BSE.

Atypical BSE generally occurs in older cattle, usually eight years or older. It seems to arise rarely and spontaneously in all cattle populations. Classical BSE is the form that occurs primarily in the UK; its primary source of infection is feed contaminated with the infectious prion agent.

The US has negligible risk status for BSE.