Rounds sponsors bill calling for federal evaluation of Brazil’s imported beef

U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) on Feb. 16 signed on as the lead cosponsor of a bipartisan bill that would establish a federal working group to evaluate the food safety threat posed by beef imported from Brazil.

S. 3230, sponsored in November 2021 by U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), also would require the working group to make recommendations to the secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on whether the importation of beef and beef products from Brazil into the United States should be permitted, according to the text of the bill.

“Brazilian beef poses a threat to both American consumers and producers,” Sen. Rounds said last week. “Consumers should feel confident that their beef is safe. I thank Senator Tester for his leadership on this issue and am hopeful others will get behind this effort.”

The legislation is supported by the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, R-CALF USA, the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association, and the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association.

“Foreign beef should not jeopardize the high-quality beef produced by American ranchers,” said Sen. Rounds. “It’s not often that you have all the major cattle groups supportive of the same idea, which says a lot.”

Sen. Rounds has led several other efforts to help solve problems faced by America’s independent cattle producers and beef consumers. Most recently, the senator in June 2021 introduced the Meat Packing Special Investigator Act, S. 2036, with Sen. Tester to give the USDA the tools to investigate anticompetitive practices in the cattle market.

Also in June 2021, Sen. Rounds joined U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) and 26 of their colleagues in requesting that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)  investigate the nation’s meatpacking industry to determine if antitrust violations exist.

In their June 1, 2021 letter sent to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, the members asked the DOJ to take decisive action in examining the behavior of the four large meatpacking companies — two of which are foreign-owned — that control over 80 percent of the meat processing market.