The U.S. pork industry is asking Congress to fund hundreds of more border inspectors, as the Trump Administration redeploys Customs agents from ports of entry to the open border, forcing inspection slowdowns. Long delays at the border coming north, in some cases five-to-ten hours, is raising concerns Mexico might slow commercial traffic headed south. Here is National Pork Producers’ President David Herring.
“We do have a concern…we probably export about 40-percent of our hams to Mexico. They lack U.S. pork. So, it’s concerning, and we would like to keep the border open, freely, if anything, speed it up, so commerce can work, back and forth, as it should.”
The administration at last count, had moved some 545-Customs and Border Protection inspectors to the open border to help with a flood of migrants crossing illegally. That’s prompted Herring and Pork Producers to seek relief.
“We’ve already requested for 600 new Customs and Border Protection inspectors—they need more help on the border.”
NPPC Chief Veterinarian Liz Wagstrom.
“They’ve identified that they need 3-thousand agricultural inspectors. They’re right around 24-hundred, give or take a few. We’ll work forward…it’s going to be a long-term process…we hope to get incremental progress, as we go forward.”
But, given the bitter political fight between President Trump and Congressional Democrats, and infighting among Democrats over border security solutions, any progress seems distant.
Source: National Association of Farm Broadcasters